Generally referred to as "Provenza", the character's first name was kept secret until his former partner, George Andrews, was heard to use it for the first time in the penultimate episode of the fifth season.
Initially, Provenza has no great love for Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson than any of the rest of the unit, but over time he develops a paternal affection for her.
A seasoned veteran of the Robbery/Homicide unit, Provenza is selected to join the elite Priority Homicide Squad in the beginning of the series.
At the beginning of The Closer Provenza joins with Priority Homicide's protest of Chief Johnson taking over the division by requesting a transfer.
While he tells Flynn he has no intention of helping her, Provenza pretty quickly proves he cares nothing about politics in the pursuit of a killer.
In the episode "Dial M for Provenza", he reveals to Assistant Chief Will Pope that the terms of his first divorce require him to split his pension with his first wife, so he therefore refuses to retire.
However, while his new wife Patrice pushes him to retire as he no longer has to share his pension, Provenza chooses to remain out of love for his job.
Near the end of season 2 of Major Crimes, Provenza discovers he needs glasses after failing his marksmanship test multiple times.
He resists at first, originally planning to tell Raydor even though it means desk duty for him, but later uses an elderly suspect's glasses to pass the test after seeing how effective they are after jokingly trying them on.
The sheer accuracy of his shot while wearing the glasses clearly leaves Raydor stunned and he informs her of his perfect score earlier.
In season 3 of Major Crimes, Provenza meets Patrice Parry, the grandmother of a victim turned suspect in one of his cases.
Being both a retired nurse and the widow of a cop, Patrice is very understanding and supportive of Provenza's lifestyle and much closer to his age than most of the women he develops an interest in.
In "Hindsight, Part 5," Provenza and Patrice are married in a small ceremony by the Mayor of Los Angeles attended only by the squad, Fritz Howard, Assistant Chief Taylor, Doctor Morales, DDA Hobbs, SIS Lieutenant Chuck Cooper, Rusty Beck and his boyfriend Gus.
In turn, Sharon suggests that if she gets the promotion, Provenza can take command of Major Crimes for her, leading to a fond exchange between the two.
In season 6, Provenza is reunited with Detective Camila "Cami" Paige, a young woman whose parents were killed in a hit-and-run years before.
After Sharon falls ill with cardiomyopathy in season 6 and collapses as a result during "Sanctuary City, Part 3," Provenza experiences an uncharacteristic loss of temper with two FBI agents, going so far as to throw something across the room.
In the four-parter "By Any Means," Provenza remains in charge of Major Crimes, but retains his rank of Lieutenant and has not officially been given command.
While reeling from the death of Sharon, the squad has to deal with the murder of DDA Emma Rios and the realization that Phillip Stroh has returned.
At the end of "By Any Means, Part 3," Provenza states that if there is one thing he wants to accomplish in his potentially short time commanding Major Crimes it is to remove Phillip Stroh from the face of the Earth.
At the end of the series, with Stroh dead, Provenza gains full command of Major Crimes though he remains a Lieutenant.
In the final scene of the series, Provenza gives a speech assuring everyone that together, they will continue bringing down the bad guys and making Major Crimes great for years to come.
On another occasion, while discussing the possibility of him taking over Major Crimes if Sharon Raydor is promoted to Assistant Chief, Provenza admits that everyone calling him "Captain" rather than "Lieutenant" would be like changing his name.
Raydor's respect as she notices how he inspires the unit by his example in his dogged determination to catch the violent criminals that the MCD is pursuing.
When planning their wedding, Provenza ultimately gives in to Patrice's wishes for a small ceremony rather than a big one, taking Buzz's advice to do what makes her happy rather than himself.
At one point, when Provenza starts talking about his first job, Flynn asks if it was cabin boy on the Mayflower or dishwasher at the Last Supper.
Provenza struggles with the revelation and has a hard time working with his old friend, insisting that Georgette must go back to being a man for the sake of the case.
At one point, Russell Taylor states that it's the best printer in the building, though he refuses to pay, citing his superior rank as a reason.
Provenza also takes Rusty in for a week when it's too dangerous for him to live with Raydor anymore due to Wade Weller and congratulates him on his testimony in the trial, trying to cheer him up.
While Provenza gives advice, he is left concerned by the boy's encounter and gets the security tape of the visit to see what happened.
When a decision had to be made about Rusty's future after the threatening letters came to light, Provenza acted as his advocate when Raydor decided to stay out of it.