Why Officer Zoey Powell From S.W.A.T. Season 6 Looks So Familiar
CBS' action-packed procedural drama "S.W.A.T." is one of those series that's been on the air longer than you probably realize. The series, after all, recently wrapped its sixth season, a run that's so far tallied a whopping 128-episodes. Though it initially looked like the series' sixth season would be it's last, CBS surprisingly reversed course, green-lighting a seventh and final run of 13-episodes.
While full casting announcements have yet to be made, one can assume the new season will indeed front series' star Shemar Moore, as well as many of his longtime co-stars. It's unclear, however, if more recent additions to the cast will be back for the final round of episodes. That list includes Anna Enger Ritch, who has portrayed Officer Zoe Powell since late in the series' fifth season. Powell joined the "S.W.A.T." narrative as an ambitious new recruit, and went on to become a regular player in the action throughout Season 6, with Ritch imbuing the character with equal parts grounded humanity, and unabashed bravado.
The actor has brought a similar mix to several of her past roles. As some of those roles were in high-profile projects, Zoe Powell likely looked quite familiar when she made her first appearance on "S.W.A.T." Here's where you might've seen her before.
Anna Enger Ritch played a plucky high schooler on The Vampire Diaries
Though many viewers may not know her name, the list of projects you might've seen Anna Enger Ritch in prior to her playing Zoe Powell on "S.W.A.T." is as long as it is impressive. The actor got her start in 2007 with a three-episode stint on the daytime soap "The Bold and the Beautiful." In the ensuing years, she also booked gigs on "Drop Dead Diva," "Meet the Browns," and "Necessary Roughness." But in 2011, Ritch (then going by Anna Enger) booked one of the biggest roles of her young career, scoring a three episode arc on The CW hit "The Vampire Diaries."
Ritch turned up on the series during its second season as a Mystic Fall High School student known as Dana. Though she didn't play a major role in the tumultuous, often blood-splattered lives of the Salvatore brothers, she did have a few intriguing moments during her brief "The Vampire Diaries" arc. She even earned a fitting series exit early in the third season, falling prey to Stefan Salvatore and Klaus Mikaelson during a fateful Mystic Falls High Senior Prank Night. It was, of course, sad to see Dana go in such fashion when we were just getting to know her. But "The Vampire Diaries" still proved a springboard for Ritch's career.
Ritch was part of a truly heartbreaking side story inThe Haunting of Hill House
In fact, Anna Enger Ritch would go on to book roles in numerous big and small screen hits in the years after her "The Vampire Diaries" gig. That includes scoring minor spots in the MTV hit "Teen Wolf," the Vince Vaughan and Owen Wilson comedy "The Internship," and the star-studded "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues."
In 2018, however, Ritch got the call many actors have hoped for in recent years, with genre master Mike Flanagan tabbing her for a notable role in his Netflix sensation, "The Haunting of Hill House." The series charted the harrowing story of the Crain family who, after setting up shop in the titular dwelling, find themselves the subjects of terrors too plentiful to cover. Though Ritch was not part of that tortured family unit, her character Joey did dramatically impact the life of the troubled Luke Crain during their stint in rehab.
As series fans recall, Joey was Luke's rehab buddy, and the one who led him to break out of the facility himself after she ran off in search of a score. That storyline was particularly brutal for Luke as he did actually find Joey, only to watch her rob him and leave him to fend for himself on the drug-addled streets. And if you've seen Ritch's episodes, you know she brilliantly humanizes Joey's own drug-fueled torment, making the storyline all the more tragic.
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Chicago Med found Ritch playing a hard-nosed federal agent
After wowing in "The Haunting of Hill House," Anna Enger Ritch has been on a seriously impressive run of small screen gigs, landing multiple episode arcs in series like "Hawaii Five-0," and "NCIS: New Orleans." She also booked a major arc on NBC's hit medical drama, "Chicago Med." Like many of its "One Chicago" siblings, "Chicago Med" has seen all manner of guest stars and cast shakeups over the years. And Ritch was indeed part of that equation, portraying FBI Agent Ingrid Lee for nine Season 4 episodes.
If you don't recall the character's narrative, Agent Lee turned up in the life of Doctor Will Halstead after notorious Chicago mobster Ray Burke came under his care. She did so as Halstead's handler, guiding him through the process of gathering evidence against, and eventually taking down the gangland kingpin. That storyline was one of the more intriguing Will Halstead ever found himself ensnared in, partly because it involved a "Chicago P.D." crossover with his brother, Detective Jay Halstead. Once Lee got involved in the case, things ratcheted up to next-level dramatic, with Ritch building a harder edge into the no-nonsense agent than her fans had ever seen before. And in doing so, she created one of her most memorable roles to date.
Ritch played reporter Julia Johnson during Season 3 of Walker
As Anna Enger Ritch was embarking on her journey as Zoe Powell on "S.W.A.T.," she was also setting off on another, claiming the role of impetuous journalist Julia Johnson in The CW drama "Walker." A pseudo reboot of the '90s hit "Walker, Texas Ranger," the series fronted "Supernatural" alum Jared Padalecki in the title role of Ranger Cordell Walker, who returns from lengthy undercover mission to find his personal, and professional lives have changed dramatically.
Julia Johnson didn't maker her first appearance in Walker's life until Season 3, with the tough-as-nails Ranger helping her escape from captivity as he liberated himself from the same captors. The duo reconnected a few episodes after that initial meeting, and spent the better part of Season 3 working in tandem to bring down bad guys all over The Lone Star State. Despite appearing in just six episodes of "Walker," Ritch's character became a major part of the action throughout. Johnson is likely setting up to be a major player moving forward as well, with "Walker" set to embark on an already green-lit fourth season. Given the renewal, and that of "S.W.A.T.," Ritch is likely to have a full professional dance card for the foreseeable future.