CHICAGO MED: S. Epatha Merkerson Previews Goodwin’s Trouble with Bert—and the Joys of the New Romance with Dennis

Just when things seemed like they were starting to look good for CHICAGO MED’s Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson), she got thrown a curveball: Her ex-husband, Bert (Greg Alan Williams)—who is also the father of her children—may be ill.

“These characters have been divorced for quite a few years now,” Merkerson points out to Give Me My Remote. “She wants to move on with her life. And she thought she was able to do that. It always seems like when things are maybe going well for her, Bert shows up. With Bert, there’s always issues.”

“I think that there’s a part of Sharon Goodwin that would like him to get a life and let her lead her own,” she continues. “But because her daughter is concerned, and she cares about her children, she’s going to see just what it is. And so she has to get involved because her children are concerned.”

It’s that worry about her kids that leads Goodwin to take the matter seriously. “Sharon is a very capable person; she always has been,” Merkerson says. “And the important thing for her at this point is to make sure that her children are okay. And that their father is okay. Because no matter what happens between Sharon and Bert, he is the father of her children. And so she keeps that concern. And so she continues to bring him in. ‘Let’s see what the problem is.’

“So that’s what we’re going to be seeing in the episodes to come,” she continues. “Each episode will be a progression following what is wrong with Bert, and how she’s dealing with him.”

To that end, Goodwin recruits Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) to dig a bit deeper into Bert’s still-mysterious ailment.

“We know that they have been friends for over 40 years,” Merkerson says of Charles and Goodwin. “And we know that over the years, when there have been issues, they’ll sit in her office or his office and they’ll have those conversations. And we also know that he and Bert are friends separate from her relationship. So it just makes sense, knowing how irascible Bert can be, that she would call on Daniel Charles to help because of their friendship.”

“And Daniel would never turn her down,” she continues. “So, it’s their relationship, and the great part of their friendship, that allows them to lean on one another. He would be the first person to assess the situation. She would ask Daniel, because he’s also a psychiatrist so he can read things quicker than maybe she can. He can help her, and explain things to her about what he’s seen, that will be helpful in her dealing with Bert.”

Also helping Goodwin? Her new boyfriend, Dr. Dennis Washington (John Earl Jelks).

“One of the things that I really love about having Dennis Washington around is that we actually get a chance to see a much softer, sort of giggly side of Sharon,” Merkerson gushes. “And it’s been fun to play that. And John Earl Jelks is just a doll baby and a really good actor. He’s an old friend, so it’s fun having him on set. [And it’s] trying to figure out how this woman is going to play this, with both of these men in the hospital.”

The shift toward joy—outside of the recent Bert drama—has also been important for Merkerson to get to portray. “It’s perfect,” she says. “It’s wonderful because you’re not just all work. There’s got to be some fun and laughter in your life. And it’s the fact that you don’t always see that in a woman of a certain age, so I’m having fun playing that part of her. It’s a great way to show that this woman is more than just, ‘Let’s be about business.’ That she has a heart, that she loves laughter. And having a suitor is just really fun.”

“And it’s a great juxtaposition to dealing with all of the things that are going on in the hospital and in her personal life,” she continues. “For her to find a moment of laughter and love in that, it’s fabulous. I’m loving it.”

CHICAGO MED, Wednesdays, 8/7c, NBC

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