In Season 2 of CBS’ Person of Interest, the writing team decided the show needed more girl power. They found it in a character named Samantha Shaw, a former government operative who was betrayed by her people in much the same way that John Reese was betrayed years ago. She’s a decent fit for the team and on Wednesday, CBS announced the actress has been signed on to return to the series as a regular character in Season 3.
Shaw is played by Sarah Shahi, an actress who has popped up in plenty of TV series through the last decade, but who is probably best known for a stint on The L Word as well as the more recent Fairly Legal, which wrapped in 2012. For the last year, she’s been splitting time between Person of Interest and NBC’s firefighter drama, Chicago Fire. The former liked her so much that they signed her for a multi-episode arc in Season 3. Shahi spoke to THR about the new gig, noting that she will be coming back repeatedly, but still doesn’t know how many episodes she will officially be signed on for.
"All I've been told is that it's a multi-episode arc, and they can use me as much as they would like to through the end of their year."
Person of Interest has needed a third team member for a while and Shahi’s character works for the hardass dynamics of the series. She and Reese make for a good, but intense, team. However, I’m also kind of hoping the series will give Leon Tao (Ken Leung) a few more shots at being a part of the team. Both characters have appeared in four episodes of the series, and while Shaw is the more efficient player, Leon brings some much-needed comic relief to the series, although it should be noted Leung signed on to the Night Shift pilot and may be committed to NBC's series this fall.
As was announced earlier today, CBS will air Season 3 of Person of Interest in a new timeslot on Tuesday nights.
