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Chicago PD adds Nicole Ari Parker for second reform plot

By Brittany Frederick

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 05: Nicole Ari Parker speaks at 2019 ESSENCE Festival Presented By Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for ESSENCE)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 05: Nicole Ari Parker speaks at 2019 ESSENCE Festival Presented By Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for ESSENCE) /
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Chicago PD season 8 will add Nicole Ari Parker.

Nicole Ari Parker will recur during Chicago PD season 8 as the show unveils its second police reform-themed storyline, according to a report from Deadline.

Parker will play Deputy Superintendent Samantha Miller, meaning that she works directly under Superintendent Jason Crawford (recurring guest star Paul Adelstein, who was introduced during season 7).

Her character replaces former Deputy Superintendent Katherine Brennan (Anne Heche), who was arrested for murdering Crawford’s predecessor Brian Kelton (John C. McGinley) at the start of last season.

This will be the second time that Chicago PD has tackled the idea of police reform—the title of the fifth season premiere was “Reform.”

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Nicole Ari Parker’s character comes to Chicago from Atlanta, where she has a very different take on policing. According to the official character description given to Deadline, Miller is a “progressive [and] ardent proponent of police reform.”

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“She wants to help Voight and Intelligence adapt to the new reality,” the description continues, “but will not tolerate breaches of the new police guidelines and protocols.”

It’s not stated when Parker’s first episode will air, though previously major recurring characters have shown up in the season premiere—as both Adelstein and Heche’s characters did. Parker will then appear in multiple season 8 installments.

The description of Samantha Miller sounds interesting and like her character will somehow tie into Kevin Atwater’s (LaRoyce Hawkins) storyline, which left off with him facing repercussions after he told the truth about a fellow officer’s misconduct.

It will also be a plus for Chicago PD to feature a new high-ranking officer who is Black; we haven’t seen that since Barbara Eve Harris played Commander Emma Crowley, and she’s been missing for awhile now.

But is Nicole Ari Parker’s casting a sign that Chicago PD season 8 will seriously attack the topic of police reform? That’s what was promised in season 5, and it devolved into Denny Woods (Mykelti Williamson) just having a personal vendetta against Voight.

And don’t forget, Miller’s new boss Crawford was complicit with Voight in blaming murders on a man the police got killed in the season 7 episode “False Positive.” It would seem like Miller, if she does stand for police reform, wouldn’t want to work for someone who did that. But we’ll have to see how the writers introduce her—and if this time they dive into the idea of reform head-on.

Parker recurred on Empire for one season before being promoted to regular for the show’s fifth and sixth seasons. She also recurred on another FOX drama, Rosewood, and was a series regular in the first season of TNT’s Murder in the First.

Next. What comes next for Chicago PD after Rojas?. dark

For the latest Chicago PD season 8 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago PD category at One Chicago Center.

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