‘S.W.A.T.’ Alum Rochelle Aytes Recalls Favorite Memories From Filming CBS Series Amid Cancellation (Exclusive)

As S.W.A.T. prepares another goodbye, Rochelle Aytes spoke to PopCulture.com about some of her favorite memories from working on the show.

Before starring on Watson, Aytes appeared as Nichelle Carmichael on S.W.A.T. beginning with Season 3.

She recurred on the series until Season 5, then was upped to series regular for Seasons 6 and 7. Nichelle became pregnant with Hondo’s baby at the end of Season 5 and welcomed their daughter Vivienne in Season 6. Hondo then proposed in the Season 6 finale, and the two tied the knot off-screen before Season 7 premiered.

Aytes had to step down for the current eighth season when she landed medical drama Watson. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t still have love for S.W.A.T. The actress previously appeared in the eighth season for an episode. Plus, she also worked alongside on-screen husband and baby daddy Shemar Moore on fellow CBS procedural, Criminal Minds prior to S.W.A.T. Aytes looked back at her time on S.W.A.T., set to end after eight seasons in May, and she said she has “a lot of memories.”

“First of all, I wanna say this. I found out from a writer that Nichelle was supposed to be maybe three or four episodes,” Aytes recalled. “And so when I think back to that first episode where she meets Hondo in the streets because there was a car accident, and she helps, she’s working at this community center, he comes. That was all fresh in my mind. And it was supposed to just be a couple of episodes, but because we had such great chemistry, it turned into five seasons. So, yeah, I think what I remember most is that first encounter, and then what I remember most is the whole pregnancy. Getting pregnant, being pregnant, having that bump for the whole season was pretty cool. I could just eat whatever I wanted, not have to worry about my stomach. I’m putting on that thing. It was a lot of fun.”

Whether or not Aytes will be appearing one more time before the end of S.W.A.T. is unknown, but it was probably hard with her schedule on Watson, regardless of the two shows being on the same network. At the very least, Aytes has a lot of memories from filming. The fact that she was only supposed to appear in four episodes but wound up appearing in over 50 really says a lot.

It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to S.W.A.T., especially after the series was saved from cancellation twice. Since it’s likely that this third cancellation will stick, the series finale on May 16 is going to hit pretty hard. For now, the final episodes of S.W.A.T. air on Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. Fans can watch Rochelle Aytes on the procedural with the first seven seasons streaming on Netflix.