Jill Pappas (Kathryn Meisle) is the main villainess from "Tapped Out," episode 5.06 of The Closer (airdate July 13, 2009). She is a network executive who was working with brothers Mark and Ken Bernstein on the planned TV premiere of their web show, Tapped.
Mark (who went by the nickname "Intrigue") was found shot to death behind his apartment building, and regarding the show, it was revealed that Mark was a pick-up artist and the show mainly centered on Mark--under his Intrigue persona--giving lessons on how to pick up women. During Major Crimes' interview with Ken and Jill, the latter stated that their show was off the charts, suggesting that it was a hit. Mark's knack for dating many women led to a bunch of them being called to the station as suspects, with Jill expressing shock over seeing that one of them was her assistant, Marie Morgan.
A concerned Jill went to Marie, who stated that she didn't kill Mark, and it was at that moment that Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson entered the interrogation room and told all of the women to leave, with the exception of Jill. This due to the fact that a witness identified Jill as the person she saw leaving the scene, which revealed Jill as Mark's killer. As it turned out, Tapped was a disaster, and Jill knew this, because her audience testing showed that viewers not only hated the show, they loathed the concept and Mark as well. Jill herself stated that while Mark appeared to be charming, he came off as a "psychopathic predator" on camera, and she knew that Tapped would mark the end of her career. She attempted to coerce Mark to change his approach, only for Mark to refuse and focus on his web business. Angered that Mark was ruining her career, Jill tracked Mark to Marie's apartment, and shot him to death in a fit of rage.
After denying it at first, the evil Jill boldly confessed, claiming that Mark screwed her over and voicing her anger over Mark continuing to prosper elsewhere while her career would take huge hit. In response to Andy Flynn's question about having the show canceled, the villainess stated that she did cancel it by killing Mark, after which Jill was arrested (off-screen).
Quotes[]
- "When I first signed Intrigue to do the show, I thought he had a likable vulnerability. Turns out, on camera, he comes off like a psychopathic predator. I told him he'd have to change his approach. Did you think he was gonna take notes from me? (Brenda: "You killed him because he wouldn't take notes?") I explained to him that the show's failure would destroy me. But it didn't matter to him because his web business would only continue to grow. He'd screwed me and was ready to move on, just like every other woman he'd ever come across. He'd make millions while I'd be fighting to get a job as Paula Abdul's personal assistant.Does that seem fair to you?!" (Jill Pappas voicing her bitterness towards Mark "Intrigue" Bernstein)
- "(Flynn: "Geez, this is just a TV show we're talking about! On basic cable, for Christ's sakes! Couldn't you have just canceled it?") I did...with extreme prejudice." (Jill's bold admission to killing Intrigue)