The Most Unexpected Death On S.W.A.T. According To Fans
In 2017, CBS launched a reboot of their classic TV series from the '70s, "S.W.A.T." While the original series only ran for just under 40 episodes over two seasons from 1975 to 1976 (via IMDb), the new iteration landed a Season 6 at the beginning of April, showing that the gang will be back for more action (via Deadline). While fans are undoubtedly excited for the return, the show certainly isn't all rays of sunshine.
What began as a run-of-the-mill procedural cop drama in the '70s spawned a Colin Farrell-led action movie, which retconned the originally white team leader, Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, as a Black man played by Samuel L. Jackson. The latest series sees Shemar Moore of "Criminal Minds" and "The Young and the Restless" take on the role of Hondo, leading the impetuous Jim Street (Alex Russell), the first woman to join the show's S.W.A.T. team, Chris Alonso (Lina Esco), and fellow team members Deacon Kay (Jay Harrington), Dominique Luca (Kenny Johnson), and Victor Tan (David Lim).
With Los Angeles' complicated history between the Black community and the LAPD (via NPR), the series is primed to tackle tough subjects like police brutality and female/POC representation on the force. "S.W.A.T." doesn't shy away from the heavier themes as it brings the largely episodic mission-of-the-week-style to the screens each week. But even though viewers are accustomed to heavy moments, one really sad death caught everyone off guard.
The death of Erika Rogers rocked the fandom
Season 4 of "S.W.A.T." attempts to reflect what is happening in the world. Not only does it address the pandemic taking hold, but it visits the racial tensions in the city by focusing on the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and using flashbacks to the 1992 LA Riots following the Rodney King verdict. As the season progresses and multiple storylines emerge surrounding people of color and women on the force, a second woman makes it onto the S.W.A.T. team, Officer Erika Rogers (Lyndie Greenwood of "Sleepy Hollow" and "Nikita"). While Chros initially rejects her when she reaches out, telling her that they can't jeopardize their career by being seen leaning on each other, Erika and Chris eventually form a strong bond. The friendship leads them to commit to becoming roommates.
In Season 4, Episode 8, "Crusade," the team searches for a white supremacist group called the Imperial Dukes. In a surprise moment, the newest member of 20 Squad (albeit a temporary member, as she's only filling in) is shot and killed in action. Fans showed their sadness at the surprise death on Reddit, with u/peeps001 saying, "I can't believe they killed Erika. She was a really good character on the show, and I was looking forward to seeing more of her." Many of the fans on Reddit shared how shocked and caught off guard they were by her death. They also sounded off on Twitter, with @temitopeandres saying, "I've been seeing SWAT since 2017 and never seen them lose an officer. I'm not ready to see Erika pass away. She's so sweet. Her death shocked me. I literally had shivers."
In "S.W.A.T.," 20 Squad is a family, a group of people navigating the worst that LA has to offer, and everyone comes home. That is, except this once. The death of Erika hit the team members and the fans equally as hard.