Chicago Med Season 10 was a tough one for Sharon Goodwin, but it was something S. Epatha Merkerson, one of two OGs now left on the NBC medical drama, alongside Oliver Platt, relished, she shared on the Thursday, September 25, episode of the One Chicago Podcast, hosted by Brian Luce, a former Chicago police officer who is a Chicago P.D. producer and technical consultant.
When Luce asked what she’s hoping for her character in Season 11, premiering October 1, she shared that she fully trusts showrunners Allen MacDonald and the writers. “In all of those 600 and so episodes that I’ve done over the years [of Dick Wolf shows, including Law & Order and Med], last year was the first time I felt that a writer actually paid attention to me,” Merkerson revealed.
Not only did McDonald listen to her, she continued, “but also he wrote for me. That has not happened. Not like it did last year. I’m a presence. You can’t negate that. But to have this through line last season, it’s only happened to me one other time.” She pointed to the last season of Law & Order, which she said likely would have ended up focusing on Sam Waterston had they known the show would be ending — at that point (in 2010). It has since come back and is in its 25th season.
She added that she loves what she does but MacDonald picked a story that showcased her voice and her capabilities. In Season 10, we saw her call upon her skills as a nurse during an emergency — “It really shows the fullness of this character that she didn’t come to this job as an administrator, she came as a worker — and her vulnerabilities when she was stalked as a result of a decision she made during that trauma.”
“Just because she’s the boss doesn’t mean she’s not human,” Merkerson said on the One Chicago Podcast. “She has moments of fear. She has moments where she’s not sure. It was the same with Van Buren [her Law & Order character]. This is a woman of strength, but you have to see when they’re vulnerable. You’ve got to see 100% of the person.”
She also said that the stalking storyline challenged her and also featured scenes that have been among the most difficult for her to film. “The cool thing is, I got to do some stunts, which really, you know, the old broad gets to do the stunts. And I did,” Merkerson shared. “I was proud of myself. But that was probably the most difficult because it was a storyline that progressed through the season.”
The star also told Luce that she thinks the writing has “absolutely” gotten better over the course of its run. “I also think that with each cast change, it’s a lot of different energy. It changes it ever so slightly. The original group, you can’t take away from. Nick [Gehlfuss, returning this season] and Torrey [DeVitto] and Colin [Donnell], you can’t take away from that. But as we’ve moved forward, when folks come in, I think it changes the feel of the show ever so much. We make the adjustment.”
It wasn’t all about looking back on the past, however. Merkerson also teased an upcoming Season 11 moment that shocked her. “There is something … that I don’t think anyone would imagine that this is possible, that the body could withstand,” she revealed, giving props to the writers and medical consults on the surgeries and props.
In general, Merkerson said of those working on the show, “What they do is extraordinary. Let’s say 50% is love stories and 50% is in the ED, is in the operating rooms. So, it has to be true to life.”
Chicago Med, Season 11 Premiere, Wednesday, October 1, 8/7c, NBC
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