The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick, will finish up at the end of its next season (Source: TNT)

The American cable channel TNT has announced that The Closer will wrap up in 2011, after the programme's star Kyra Sedgwick indicated to producers that she intended to leave.

The crime drama will wrap up at the end of the next season, its seventh. The series began airing in 2005, and will pass the one hundred episode mark during the final season.

In a statement on Friday, the network said that the "difficult decision" had been made by Sedgwick, who portrays Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson in the series.

"I cannot fathom how difficult it will be to say goodbye to the incredible family we've created on The Closer," Sedgwick said.

The Closer has been one of the most successful shows on American cable television; it has pulled consistently high audiences throughout its run and is averaging well over eight million viewers per week for the current season. Sedgwick's role has won her a Golden Globe and an Emmy.

Steve Koonin, the president of Turner Entertainment Networks, said that the series' ratings performance had helped to put the channel on the map.

"The Closer was a pivotal series in setting a new course for TNT's original programming, while also serving as a prime example of the storytelling strength possible on cable television," he said.

Australian free-to-air broadcast rights for The Closer are held by the Nine Network. Episodes of the series have been airing on Gem, the network's high-definition multichannel.

Media Spy discussion: The Closer