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| Written by AJ Feuerman |
The evening was a procedural crime drama buff’s dream come true as the casts of Law & Order SVU, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and Chicago Med were represented on stage at PaleyFest on Saturday night in Stars Salute Dick Wolf.
In truth, more than those shows were spoken for as S. Epatha Merkerson spent several years on the original Law & Order incarnation and Ice-T reminded everyone that SVU is actually the fifth show he’s done with Wolf (i.e. New York Undercover and Players). Wolf also announced Carl Weathers (Rocky) would be joining and headlining the cast of the next Chicago franchise, Chicago Justice, joining Philip Winchester (The Player), Nazneen Contractor (Heroes Reborn) and Joelle Carter (Justified).
The most prevalent theme of the evening was the diverse, rich characters Wolf brings to every series he backs. As each actor spoke, they clearly exhibited pride in their part of the universe the iconic producer has founded and had something unique to add.
S. Epatha Merkerson, who joined Law & Order in 1991, staying on all the way until 2010, felt a tremendous amount of responsibility in her role, viewing it as an amazing way to bring women to the forefront of what was actually happening at the NYPD. When she joined the show, there were only five female lieutenants on the real life force. That number has since multiplied time and time again. In tangent with her role now, as Chicago Med’s Chief Administrator Sharon Goodwin, Merkerson remarked that women approach her daily to say they have gone into law or medical careers because of her.
Chicago PD star Sophia Bush expressed a similar sentiment. “You’ve been given the opportunity to play a role that shows a woman that you can be the hero of your own story,” she said. Bush recently returned from speaking at SxSW with none other than the First Lady herself.
Oliver Platt, who stars as epically wise and likable Chicago Med Psychiatrist, Dr. Charles, found a kindred spirit in Wolf citing that “one of the hallmarks of Dick’s work is that he’s really genuinely interested in the truth — that we do things in the most truthful way.” This seems to have a trickle down effect to the actors, who work overtime to bring authenticity to everything they do.
Platt’s co-stars Colin Donnell and Torrey DeVitto nodded in agreement. The cast is grateful that their medium allows several takes so they can get everything right… and that they are supplied with prosthetics to take home and practice their fake surgical skills on. As the newest members of the Chicago family, they conveyed in earnest a gratitude for being embraced by the franchise veterans.
Jason Beghe was the strong and silent type on the stage, but still managed to command the room when he chose to speak up, much like his Chicago PD character, Hank Voight. Beghe expressed an appreciation for the characters as well, adding that any character in their world was a “gray character” as no Dick Wolf character never really seems 100% black or white, good or bad.
The audience audibly perked up the most to hear handsome Chicago Fire stars Jesse Spencer and Taylor Kinney speak. Both echoed sentiment for their fellow Chicago castmates as well as the city who has embraced them and the real life heroes who root for their characters.
But Ice-T was the star of the night with hilarious commentary and telling facial expressions. On how much he loves working with Wolf and his part on SVU, he explained: “They called me to do four episodes and it’s been 17 years.”
