Serena Southerlyn
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Serena Southerlyn is a fictional character portrayed by
Elisabeth Röhm Elisabeth Röhm ( "Rome" "room", ; born April 28, 1973) is an American television and film actress and director. She is best known for playing Kate Lockley in the television series ''Angel'' from 1999 to 2001 and Serena Southerlyn in the te ...
on the long-running
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
drama series ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
''. She appeared in 85 episodes.


Character overview

Southerlyn joins the
District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
's office in the 2001 episode " Who Let The Dogs Out?" as an
assistant district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represe ...
, replacing Abbie Carmichael (
Angie Harmon Angela Michelle Harmon (born August 10, 1972) is an American actress and model. She won ''Seventeens modeling contest in 1987 at age 15, signed with IMG Models, and appeared on covers for magazines such as ''Cosmopolitan'' and ''Esquire''. ...
). She worked under District Attorneys
Nora Lewin The American television police procedural and legal drama ''Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, ...
(
Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986's ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994's '' Bullets Over Broadway'' (both directed by Woody Allen), one Gold ...
) and Arthur Branch (
Fred Thompson Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a Unite ...
) and Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy (
Sam Waterston Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television, and film. He has received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actor ...
). She was the second longest serving junior ADA in the history of the series, having served three complete seasons and half of a fourth. Southerlyn often disagrees with McCoy over their trial strategies in cases where she sees the defendant's crime as a by-product of social circumstances, such as
homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
or
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
. She has an especially troubled relationship with Branch, a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
who replaced Lewin as
District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
in 2002. There is some nuance in her political outlook, however; she takes a hardline stance against
illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
, and sees the
Miranda Warning In the United States, the ''Miranda'' warning is a type of notification customarily given by Law enforcement in the United States, police to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) advising them of their right t ...
as "trite" and a "hollow formality".


Notable conflicts in the series

In 2002, Southerlyn is brought before the
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York is the intermediate appellate court in New York State. The state is geographically divided into four judicial departments of the Appellate Division. The full title of each is, u ...
's Disciplinary Committee after promising to get legal help for a
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
suspect who had taken
hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...
s, to get him to release his prisoners. The man had a knife to a woman's throat and demanded a lawyer. Southerlyn, who happened to be in the area, volunteered to enter the store where the holdup was taking place, to negotiate the hostage's release. Since the man had asked for a lawyer, the committee attempts to paint Southerlyn's actions as
fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
ulent, since she was supposedly representing herself as ''his'' lawyer (which she denies), when she was in fact a district attorney. McCoy, who had been brought before the committee four years earlier, represents her. She is reprimanded, but keeps her law license. Southerlyn is a graduate of (the fictional)
Hudson University ''Law & Order'' is a media franchise composed of a number of related American television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment. They were originally broadcast on NBC, and all of them deal with some aspect of the cri ...
law school. In a 2003 trial, opposing counsel is her old professor of criminal law. He goads her by saying he remembers her as an A− student; she responds that she got an A, before adding that she never approved of his clients. In several episodes, Southerlyn is portrayed as opposing the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
, which often puts her in a difficult ethical position when working with McCoy and Branch, who both support capital punishment.


Departure and sexuality

Röhm left the show in the middle of the fifteenth season, and made her last appearance in the January 2005 episode "Ain't No Love". She was replaced by Alexandra Borgia (
Annie Parisse Anne Marie Cancelmi (born July 31, 1975), known professionally as Annie Parisse, is an American actress. She portrayed Alexandra Borgia on the drama series ''Law & Order''. Parisse has also starred as Julia Snyder on the soap opera ''As the Wo ...
). Her departure was noteworthy due to a surprising conversation between Southerlyn and Branch in the very last scene of the episode. At the close of the show, Branch fires Southerlyn because he feels she is too sympathetic toward defendants, and that her emotions get in the way of looking at the facts. A stunned Southerlyn pauses for a moment, then asks, "Is this because I'm a
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
?" Startled by the question, Branch protests, "No. Of course not. No." Her final line is "Good.... Good." This is the first and only instance that Southerlyn's
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
was ever explicitly mentioned, although there had been subtle hints in earlier episodes. In the 2002 episode "Girl Most Likely", while discussing a gay murder suspect, she notes, "
Coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
's got to be a pretty tough thing to do, no matter how understanding your parents are." In the 2004 episode "Gov Love," she is uncomfortable with a case in which McCoy successfully seeks to have
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
declared illegal in New York in order to get testimony from a gay defendant's spouse. Southerlyn had objected to this and refused to assist McCoy, but her sexual orientation was never mentioned. She mentions in another episode that she dated a male college student while she was still in high school and that he is now a
New York State Senator The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...
. The decision to announce Southerlyn's homosexuality only as the character left the show was widely denounced both by fans and critics. ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'''s Dana Stevens called the line "a cheap stunt", as did ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'''s Robert Bianco and numerous fans. The media director for the
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ex ...
(GLAAD) stated to ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' television critic Maureen Ryan, "For a show that usually employs gay and lesbian characters as sensational
plot device A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief ...
s, it's really disappointing to have one of the leads come out five seconds before she exits the show." Ryan also cited as "typical" a fan comment from
Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...
's fan forum that read, "They have never discussed her
sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
on the show before and all of a sudden, she's gay in her last two lines? Terrible writing decision." Tim Goodman of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' joined those calling the move a "cheap stunt", adding, "but here's why it didn't work: Anyone who knows anything about gay people knows that no lesbian could ever be that bad of an actress." Diane Holloway of the ''
Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The distribution of the following ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', '' ...
'' was one of many critics who chose to answer Southerlyn's on-screen question, while citing her as third runner-up for a list of "the most annoying actors on television". Critic Kevin Thompson of the ''
Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and '' The Palm Beach Daily News' ...
'' similarly replied, "No, it's because you're a robotic actress." Series creator
Dick Wolf Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American billionaire and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. ...
later explained at the
Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 American and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts appli ...
press tour that he had consulted Röhm before scripting the scene — the only Wolf-authored scene in the installment — saying, "Do you want to go out with a bang or a whimper?" He characterized the scene as "unabashedly a water-cooler moment." "And the fact that we're discussing it shows that I think it worked as a water-cooler moment." Wolf also noted the effectiveness of the device by reporting that the show's main online
chat room The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...
"crashed 15 minutes after the show was over," although critic Alan Pergament joked in his column that the response came not because viewers approved, but "because many fans thought the out-of-left field ending was a crime."


Critical response

''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' called Rohm "arguably the most inept cast member" in the series' first 18 years, with Ben Katner writing "we are dancing in the streets" upon her departure. Dusin Rowles of ''Pajiba'' described Rohm as a "disaster" and a "catastrophe". ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' called Rohm's performance and character "wooden".
AfterEllen.com ''AfterEllen'' is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifestyle issues from a feminis ...
reported that Southerlyn was "one of the show's more disliked characters" due to her "cold and robotic" portrayal.


Credits

Rohm is credited in a total of 85 episodes of the ''Law & Order''.Serena Southerlyn — IMDb
/ref> This makes her character, Serena Southerlyn tied with
Connie Rubirosa Consuela Rubirosa is a fictional character, portrayed by Alana de la Garza, who joined the cast of long-running NBC drama series ''Law & Order'' during the Law & Order season 17, 17th-season premiere episode "Fame". She is the only second-chair a ...
(portrayed by
Alana de la Garza Alana de la Garza (born June 18, 1976) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Connie Rubirosa for the final 4 seasons of the initial run of the NBC television series '' Law & Order'', as well as in the spinoffs '' Law & Order: LA ...
) as the longest-serving assistant district attorney in the original ''Law & Order'' series in terms of the number of episodes featured (not including crossovers on other shows).


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Southerlyn, Serena Law & Order characters Fictional Democrats (United States) Fictional assistant district attorneys Fictional American lawyers Fictional lesbians American female characters in television Fictional LGBTQ characters in television Television characters introduced in 2001 ja:セリーナ・サウザリン pt:Serena Southerlyn