This Is What Really Happened To Susie On Rizzoli And Isles
As the senior criminalist on "Rizzoli & Isles," Susie (Tina Huang) was an essential part of the team. The fan favorite character worked right alongside Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander) from Season 2 to Season 6. And along the way she earned a reputation for having a wicked sense of humor and a big heart to match.
Susie added so much humor and light to the series it was a shock when her character was killed off in Season 6. At first, it seemed the criminalist had simply disappeared, but Rizzoli and Isles quickly discovered their coworker had been murdered. Given her importance to the show, it wouldn't have been right for the series to gloss over Susie's tragic ending. Instead, the writers built a mystery around her death that became one of the most personal cases the title characters ever had to solve.
In the Season 6 episode "Misconduct," Rizzoli and Isles find troubling evidence that their dear friend Susie may have been leading a double life. During a sweep of her apartment, the women discover a secret room in her apartment full of money and stolen evidence. But by the end of the hour, it becomes clear Susie is being set up by a vengeful politician.
However, even after the case was closed, fans were still left wondering why Huang exited the series. And while it's not uncommon for actors to move on from long-running shows, in this case, it wasn't the actress' decision to leave.
Tina Huang wasn't ready to leave Rizzoli and Isles in Season 6
Much like the fans, Huang wasn't ready to say goodbye to Susie. Unfortunately, the "Rizzoli & Isles" writers made the decision to write the character out for the sake of creating a dramatic and personal case for the lead characters to solve. In an interview with Talk Nerdy With Us, Huang revealed that she was notified early on in the season about her character's impending death.
"Jan and everybody at TNT handled it so professionally," she said. "I knew pretty early on but of course I didn't want to spoil it for the fans and that was a really difficult secret to keep under wraps. The Susie character is such a fun lovable character that Jan Nash (the show runner) is very, very sensitive about. She called me and we were all really upset to see this character go. At the same time I think the story opens the world up to interesting storylines for the other characters to go through that grieving process."
Even though she was heartbroken to leave the series, Huang understood her character's death was in service of the larger plot. And on the upside, she has stayed busy since her stint on "Rizzoli & Isles" ended in 2015. Since exiting the crime series, she's gone on to play characters on "Arrow," "The Bold and the Beautiful," and "Days of Our Lives." But it's safe to say for "Rizzoli & Isles" fans, Huang will always be Susie.