S. Epatha Merkerson actually first appeared in the first season of "Law & Order" where she played a grief stricken mother. The producers were so impressed with her performance that they chose Merkerson to take Dann Florek's place as detective chief in the fourth season. She later moved on to star in "Come Back, Little Sheba" in 2007. In 2012 she became the host of the show "Find Our Missing" which was dedicated mainly to finding missing people of color. She most recently starred in 3 episodes "Chicago P.D." back in 2016.