S.W.A.T. Ups Anna Enger Ritch to Series Regular for Final Season (Exclusive)
Anna Enger Ritch, who made her S.W.A.T. debut as Officer Zoe Powell late in Season 5, has been promoted to series regular for the CBS crime drama’s seventh and final season, TVLine has learned exclusively.
“There’s always gossip…,” Ritch tells TVLine of when she first heard the very good word, “but I did not get final confirmation until right before we started production, after the [WGA and SAG-AFTRA] strikes.”
More from TVLine
Will Trent First Look: Clark Gregg's Season 2 Role Revealed (Exclusive)
TVLine Items: Single Black Female Sequel, Amazon Lands Celine Dion Doc and More
Chiefs/Ravens Was Most-Watched AFC Championship Game Ever - Predict the Super Bowl 58 Audience
In Part 1 of S.W.A.T.‘s Season 7 opener, airing Friday, Feb. 16 at 8/7c, Hondo (played by Shemar Moore), Hicks (Patrick St. Esprit) and Powell head to Mexico City to retrieve a fugitive who slipped from Hondo’s grasp 10 years ago. But when “trouble ensues, as it always does on S.W.A.T.,” Ritch quips, Hondo finds himself once again on the killer’s trail, desperate to fulfill a decade-old promise.
Filming the two-parter marked Ritch’s first trip to Mexico City, where she was moved by “how gracious and kind the people were — some of the most welcoming and hospitable people I’ve ever met.”
Having previously popped up on S.W.A.T. some 17 times, what does Ritch like most about her TV alter ego?
“Oh, she is unapologetically herself,” the actress says with a chuckle. “She’s headstrong, she’s courageous, and she’s also a ride-or-die. When you get her to buy into anything, she’ll go to war with you.”
And with which character does Ritch think Powell enjoys the most fun dynamic? “Commander Hicks! He’s my best friend, he just does know it yet,” she says with a wink.
“But really, everyone,” she says, turning serious. “It’s difficult coming into this type of show, especially as a female when it’s so male-heavy, but everyone on the cast was super-welcoming. I feel like I got adopted by a bunch of big brothers!”
Ritch’s previous TV credits include The CW’s Walker (where she has played Julia Johnson), CBS’ NCIS: New Orleans and NBC’s Chicago Med, plus episodes of CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 reboot and Syfy’s Superstition.
Want scoop on S.W.A.T., or for any other TV show ? Email InsideLine@tvline.com, and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
Best of TVLine
Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter