down an unnerving path.

On that final point, the intersection of law enforcement and race remains a particularly sensitive issue.

However, he adds, I want to be authentic.

Major Crimes final season

Credit: Eddy Chen/TNT

Writing about todays law enforcement community without writing about race is inauthentic, Duff argues.

Yet that tension, ultimately, was his motivating factor for tackling the subject.

Its a fittingly heightened place forMajor Crimesto launch its final season.

Earlier this month, TNT canceled the drama, forcing it to end with a truncated 13-episode run.

(Sanctuary City is a multi-part episode that continues over the next several weeks.)

He wants viewers to grapple with the obstacle that race presents toward greater national unity.

I feel like we have to acknowledge it, he says of his duty as a writer in 2017.

Otherwise, were living in a very scary alternate universe.

The final season ofMajor Crimesairs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on TNT.