S.W.A.T.: Who Plays Dr. Wendy Hughes?

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Contains spoilers for “S.W.A.T.” Season 8, Episodes 17 — “The Enemy Within”

In times when 40 Squad requires a criminal profiler, they rely on none other than Dr. Wendy Hughes, a psychologist from LAPD. Dr. Hughes has made an appearance 15 times across the drama’s eight seasons, but this time she takes center stage in the plot. Her role is crucial to the latest case, as she’s been providing counsel to three officers who unfortunately fell victim to a sniper. Interestingly, all these officers share a common bond; they were part of the troubling De La Costa High School mass shooting incident, thankfully not an actual event.

By deliberately approaching Claude Fournier (Richard Ellis), Wendy places herself directly in a dangerous situation. Fournier is an ex-policeman who holds a grudge against Wendy for implicating him in a report that he joined the force out of family tradition. Additionally, his guilt over the De La Costa High School incident intensifies the danger for both of them. However, luckily, Hondo (Shemar Moore) is present and ready to offer assistance.

Devotees of procedural dramas will forever associate Cahlin Ryan with Corrine Mackey, the patient yet estranged wife of Vic (Michael Chiklis), who ultimately decides to end her suffering in the nearly flawless action series “The Shield.” However, there’s a lot more to her than just her roots in cop shows. Here’s why you might recognize her from other roles.

In this version, I aimed to make the text more conversational and easier to read by using phrases like “devotees of” instead of “procedural fans,” and “forever associate” instead of “will always remember.” Additionally, I used “ultimately decides” to replace “decides to suffer no more,” as it maintains the original meaning but sounds less harsh. Finally, I replaced “near-perfect action show” with “nearly flawless action series” for a smoother flow.

Cathy Cahlin Ryan has made audiences laugh, too

Cathy Cahlin Ryan began her acting career at a highly esteemed location by making an unaccredited appearance as a carefree hippie in the Season 3 episode of “Seinfeld” titled “The Keys.” She later secured a role on the series “The Shield” in 2002, and throughout its extended run, she made guest appearances on various other shows such as “The Unit,” “Monk,” and “Judging Amy.” In this latter show, she portrayed a character involved in a child-trafficking ring. After the conclusion of “The Shield” in 2008, she featured in the action-packed martial arts and crime film “Redbelt,” which is known for its intense violence.

Apart from appearing in TV shows like “N3mbrs,” “Lie to Me,” “Justified,” and “The Chicago Code,” Cahlin Ryan is a skilled writer of short films, and has even acted in movie adaptations of her own scripts such as “The Bath.” In an interview with The Mighty, she confessed that portraying Dr. Wendy repeatedly has significantly influenced her life. “I truly relish playing Dr. Wendy,” she shared. “It’s something I really enjoy and, in my opinion, the most significant aspect is the listening… I try not to get emotional immediately, even with my family, but rather read them myself and maintain a more reasonable awareness. In my view, it has had a positive impact on me, and I just can’t get enough of it.” Here’s wishing that she gets another chance to reprise her role before “S.W.A.T.” wraps up for good this May.

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2025-04-15 01:30