After 16 years, S. Epatha Merkerson is leaving Law & Order at the end of this season, TVGuide.com has confirmed.
"It's a graceful way to go. It's the...
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S. Epatha Merkerson will return to Broadway in a Manhattan Theatre Club revival of the William Inge drama Come Back, Little Sheba, previewing Jan. 3, 2008, and then opening Jan. 24. Per the AP, Merkerson will star as lonely housewife Lola, a role that in the original 1950 production garnered Shirley Booth a Tony (and then an Oscar, for the film adaptation).
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Question: I just read an interview with S. Epatha Merkerson in which she was asked about being the senior cast member of Law & Order. Has Sam Waterston been removed? It's bad enough to lose Fred Thompson, but if Sam Waterston goes, I will no longer watch, in spite of the other good cast members. He is the show!
Answer: I don't think she was talking about age. She was referring to the fact that she has the most longevity of any remaining cast regular. She joined L&O a season before Sam Waterston, although I agree it's almost hard (repeats aside) to remember a time when either one wasn't on it. For the record, Waterston is staying on the job, but he's taking over Thompson's DA position. There's more casting to be announced, clearly, but they have time, since the show isn't scheduled to return until after football season is over in January ...
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On Monday at 9 pm/ET, S. Epatha Merkerson costars with Jennie Garth and Andrea Bowen (Julie Mayer on Desperate Housewives) in the Lifetime drama Girl, Positive, about a high-school honor student who contracts HIV. We spoke with the Emmy-winning actress about the TV-movie gig, big changes at Law & Order and her secretive stint on The Closer.
TV Guide: What do you hope viewers will come away with after watching Girl, Positive? S. Epatha Merkerson: Most importantly, the fact that AIDS and HIV are still a part of our lives and young people need to be aware of
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There certainly seems to be a "No Shrinking Violets" sign posted outside the TNT studios. During a conference call to tout the June 18 return of The Closer, series star Kyra Sedgwick — herself a Golden Globe winner — told TVGuide.com that in addition to meeting Brenda's father (a role as yet uncast), a doctor for the deputy chief will enter the mix, played by Law & Order vet S. Epatha Merkerson, who grabbed an Emmy for her turn in Lackawanna Blues. "She'll be around for a few episodes," Sedgwick told us. "So that's been really exciting."Having screened the new season's first episode, it's not revealing too much to say that when we revisit Brenda Leigh's world, she is under the gun to streamline her squad by at least one detective. But as for whether that has resulted in any cast changes among the PhDers, she said, "No, not yet."Which returning summer series do you most anxiously await? Vote here (bottom right).
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