ADA Serena Southerlyn is a fictional character portrayed by Elisabeth Röhm in the TV series Law & Order.
In the first episode they appeared in, titled Who Let the Dogs Out? (season 12), they were 28 years old.
They appear in 85 episodes out of a total of 501 aired so far and have accumulated 1008 positive votes.
The character of ADA Serena Southerlyn is mainly associated with Detective Ed Green, Executive ADA Jack McCoy and Detective Lennie Briscoe.
Episodes85
Who Let the Dogs Out?
episode S12.E1 september 2001A jogger is mauled to death by a pit bull, and detectives discover that the dog's original owner may have tortured it and trained it to be a killer.
Armed Forces
episode S12.E2 october 2001A murdered shoe-shine man turns out to be a veteran who was trying to return the Bronze Star he received during the Vietnam War.
For Love or Money
episode S12.E3 october 2001A career criminal is murdered, and the investigation leads detectives to a manipulative widow who may have hired the victim to murder her husband.
Soldier of Fortune
episode S12.E4 october 2001A diamond broker's death may have happened because he was on the verge of exposing a powerful Swiss diamond concern's connection to "blood diamonds" mined in Sierra Leone.
Possession
episode S12.E5 october 2001A pair of feuding siblings who share ownership of a building are suspects in the murder of a tenant who may have been keeping them from selling the building for millions of dollars.
Formerly Famous
episode S12.E6 november 2001Briscoe and Green suspect that a washed-up former Vegas lounge singer may be connected to his wife's murder. But they also discover that his wife had a history as a con artist.
Myth of Fingerprints
episode S12.E7 november 2001A fingerprint analyst's error put an innocent man in prison. Detectives discover that this may not have been the only error she has made in favor of prosecutors.
The Fire This Time
episode S12.E8 november 2001A schoolteacher dies in a building fire. The fire is linked to a group of young radical environmentalists. McCoy tries to go after the man who influenced them.
3 Dawg Night
episode S12.E9 november 2001A hip-hop star goes on trial for the murder of a nightclub patron who accused him of being a sellout.
Prejudice
episode S12.E10 december 2001The DA's office charges a racist who killed an African-American CEO over a taxicab with a hate crime. The defense responds by arguing that racism is a mental defect.
The Collar
episode S12.E11 january 2002A priest is murdered in his confessional, but another priest was the actual target. However, the targeted priest refuses to cooperate with the investigation, claiming that his communication with the killer is privileged.
Undercovered
episode S12.E12 january 2002An insurance company employee is killed because he was on a committee that rejected coverage of an expensive but effective drug for a young girl suffering from leukemia.
DR 1-102
episode S12.E13 january 2002Serena is asked as a lawyer to help resolve a hostage situation. But her actions threaten to get her disbarred because she didn't disclose to the captor that she works as a prosecutor and wasn't his personal counsel.
Missing
episode S12.E14 february 2002A former aide for a state senator disappears and later turns up dead. The investigation uncovers the aide's affair with a powerful state official and her being pregnant.
Access Nation
episode S12.E15 february 2002McCoy takes on a cyber investigating company after information it sells to a convicted rapist is used in the murder of his therapist.
Born Again
episode S12.E16 march 2002A therapist is charged with murder after an 11-year-old girl dies during a "rebirthing" procedure.
Girl Most Likely
episode S12.E17 march 2002Was a high school girl killed because she was going to report a sexual assault by two classmates, or because another classmate was afraid that she was going to "out" her?
Equal Rights
episode S12.E18 april 2002The DA's office believes that an abused wife hired her brother-in-law to kill her husband. The defense claims that the woman suffers from battered wife syndrome, but was is it a case of self-defense or revenge?
Slaughter
episode S12.E19 april 2002An activist college student is killed for investigating a meat packing plant. McCoy later uncovers a connection between the plant and five E. coli deaths at a fast food chain.
Dazzled
episode S12.E20 april 2002A woman is drugged and falls to her death, and the evidence suggests that her ex-boyfriend and her current husband's ex-wife may have conspired to kill her.
Foul Play
episode S12.E21 may 2002An investigation into the murder of a private investigator leads to the discovery of a Honduran immigrant illegally playing in a New York youth baseball league.
Attorney Client
episode S12.E22 may 2002A sleazy criminal defense attorney is accused of killing his wife and using knowledge he obtained as a lawyer to frame a client. During the trial, he tries to further manipulate the system to avoid a conviction.
Oxymoron
episode S12.E23 may 2002A doctor's murder helps detectives uncover an organized crime attempt to corner the prescription oxycodone market.
Patriot
episode S12.E24 may 2002A Desert Storm veteran who fancies himself a soldier on the War on Terror is charged with murdering an Arab man. The case becomes more complicated when evidence after the fact suggests that the victim may have indeed been a terrorist.
American Jihad
episode S13.E1 october 2002A teenage converted Muslim from a wealthy New York family acts as his own counsel in his murder trial, claiming that he is a victim of an American Anti-Muslim conspiracy.
Shangri-La
episode S13.E2 october 2002The investigation into the murder of a high-school teacher unearths some unsettling truths about another teacher and one of the students.
True Crime
episode S13.E3 october 2002McCoy becomes suspicious of a former police officer and current true crime writer investigating the death of a controversial rock singer, when the singer's wife is killed.
Tragedy on Rye
episode S13.E4 october 2002Three suspects are arrested when a tourist's home video shows them leaving the victim's apartment with stolen property. McCoy and Southerlyn are surprised when Branch announces they will seek the death penalty.
The Ring
episode S13.E5 november 2002A ring found on a skeleton in Hell's Kitchen indicates that the victim is a woman who was reportedly killed in the World Trade Center on 9-11. A member of a powerful political New York family is charged with her murder.
Hitman
episode S13.E6 november 2002A mob-connected contractor is murdered, and his wife and her lover are connected to a hit man hired to kill him. But the case turns out to be much more complicated than it seems.
Open Season
episode S13.E7 november 2002A defense attorney is murdered hours after his client accused of shooting a cop is acquitted. Detectives suspect that a right-wing militia group is involved, and that the lives of other attorneys may be in jeopardy.
Asterisk
episode S13.E8 november 2002A star baseball player accused of killing a limo driver claims that "roid rage" made him do it.
The Wheel
episode S13.E9 december 2002The discovery of a badly-burned dead body outside a Chinese official's penthouse puts the Manhattan DA's office in the middle of a dispute between the Chinese government and a religion it officially considers a cult.
Mother's Day
episode S13.E10 january 2003A mother claims self-defense after she kills her schizophrenic son who was involved in a hit-and-run death.
Chosen
episode S13.E11 january 2003A defense attorney tries to exploit the jury's sympathy for Israel in the hopes that it will get his bookie client found innocent of a murder charge.
Under God
episode S13.E12 february 2003A drug dealer turns up dead, leading detectives to members of a neighborhood watch group whose lives were poisoned by the victim. The priest who leads the group confesses to the crime, claiming that God told him to do it.
Absentia
episode S13.E13 february 2003A man scheduled to testify in a murder trial disappears. The DA's office discovers that he's actually a radical who disappeared 20 years earlier after being charged with killing his girlfriend.
Star Crossed
episode S13.E14 february 2003A young man with an 80 IQ confesses to committing a murder. However, assistant DA Southerlyn suspects that a beautiful but manipulative woman he was trying to impress may have talked him into his plea.
B*tch
episode S13.E15 february 2003A successful businesswoman is accused of killing her stock broker and lover over insider trading issues. However, she claims she suffered a psychotic break because she was undergoing hormone replacement therapy.
Suicide Box
episode S13.E16 march 2003An African-American teenager shoots a police officer because he's angry about the lack of investigation into his brother's death. A reopening of that investigation aggravates some deep racial tensions.
Genius
episode S13.E17 april 2003A promising young writer confesses to the murder and robbery of a cabbie and demands that he receive the death penalty.
Maritime
episode S13.E18 april 2003A former star quarterback and his agent go missing after an all-night boating party and are presumed dead. The quarterback's deadbeat, drug-addicted brother quickly becomes the prime suspect.
Seer
episode S13.E19 april 2003A murder suspect uses his "psychic powers" to lead detective Green to the crime scene and murder weapon. Is he truly psychic, or just an obsessed stalker?
Kid Pro Quo
episode S13.E20 april 2003A prep school headmaster is accused of murdering his school's admissions director after overruling her on a controversial admissions selection.
House Calls
episode S13.E21 may 2003Did a shady doctor irresponsibly prescribe pain-killing drugs to one of his patients, which resulted in her death?
Sheltered
episode S13.E22 may 2003As the DA's office tries to prosecute a teenage sniper who killed four people, prosecutors discover that he was abducted from his real family as a child and emotionally abused by the man he was living with.
Couples
episode S13.E23 may 2003Briscoe and Green catch three murder cases and one kidnapping on the same day, and one murder is tied to a fourth murder which happened ten years ago. Each case apparently involves domestic disputes gone wrong.
Smoke
episode S13.E24 may 2003The child of a popular comic dies after he is reportedly thrown out of a window during a fire. However, the investigation also uncovers allegations that the comic molested an 11-year-old boy years earlier.
Bodies
episode S14.E1 september 2003A serial killer refuses to tell Jack McCoy the names and locations of all of his victims. The killer's defense attorney has the information too, but refuses to disclose it because of attorney-client privilege.
Bounty
episode S14.E2 october 2003A bounty hunter's murder in a motel room is connected to a journalist who may have fabricated a story about the criminal the bounty hunter was chasing.
Patient Zero
episode S14.E3 october 2003A carjacking murder investigation becomes complicated by a SARS outbreak in New York City, and the discovery of medical container with the virus in the stolen car.
Shrunk
episode S14.E4 october 2003A popular Broadway composer is accused of murder. His psychiatrist blames it on a traumatic episode he had as a teenager, but McCoy discovers that the doctor may also have a motive.
Blaze
episode S14.E5 october 2003The leader of a rock band is accused of tampering with a flamethrower at a concert, which caused the deaths of 23 people. However, an enamored teenage fan may be willing to commit perjury to give him an alibi.
Identity
episode S14.E6 november 2003An 80-year-old man is accused of killing the man who stole his identity and caused him to lose his home. However, the defendant's son wants him declared incompetent to stand trial.
Floater
episode S14.E7 november 2003A murder investigation leads detectives to a judge who may be taking bribes from a select group of divorce lawyers to rig their cases.
Embedded
episode S14.E8 november 2003A reporter, just back from Iraq, is shot in the back by a military-issue handgun. Did he put soldiers' lives at risk with his reporting, and was the shooting payback for it?
Compassion
episode S14.E9 november 2003Did a pediatric oncologist kill a con artist over a failed investment, or did she actually crack mentally over the stress of dealing with terminally-ill children?
Ill-Conceived
episode S14.E10 december 2003An illegal Mexican immigrant is accused of killing his wife's sweatshop boss because he was their baby's father. He claims, however, that his wife was forced to be her boss's surrogate mother.
Darwinian
episode S14.E11 january 2004A homeless man goes on trial for manslaughter, accused of killing another homeless man. His defense attorney argues that the laws of civilized society should not apply to homeless people because of their realities.
Payback
episode S14.E12 january 2004A real estate broker is accused of being an unlikely hit man for a former mob boss recently released from prison and trying to get his old crew back.
Married with Children
episode S14.E13 february 2004The detectives break the news of a woman's murder to her sister, but she turns out to really be her ex-wife and disappears with the victim's adopted child, who had previously lived with the couple.
City Hall
episode S14.E14 february 2004A city councilman and a water inspector are victims of a shooting in City Hall. Prosecution of the guilty party is difficult because the murder weapon was obtained through a secretive FISA warrant.
Veteran's Day
episode S14.E15 february 2004An angry veteran whose son died in Iraq claims extreme emotional disturbance after he is charged with killing a young Iraq War protester he thought was provoking him.
Can I Get a Witness?
episode S14.E16 february 2004A boy is murdered in the park in front of two witnesses by a man on a bicycle. When the witnesses are repeatedly threatened and one turns up dead, the case against the murderer begins to unravel.
Hands Free
episode S14.E17 march 2004Some of a man's body parts are found in separate garbage cans and an early suspect is his deaf girlfriend. The investigation soon discovers that this woman is nowhere close to who she seems.
Evil Breeds
episode S14.E18 march 2004The main witness in the deportation trial of a purported Nazi war criminal is found beaten to death in her home. Suspicion soon falls upon the former guard, as well as a white supremacist entrepreneur who supported his cause.
Nowhere Man
episode S14.E19 march 2004Detectives discover that a murdered assistant district attorney had an assumed identity, and that he never graduated from law school. They also discover that he made a mob-related murder case in his files disappear.
Everybody Loves Raimondo's
episode S14.E20 april 2004A film producer is killed at Raimondo's, a restaurant known for its mob ties and celebrity clientèle. Briscoe and Green discover that the producer was feuding with a novelist over profits for a movie based on the writer's book about Raimondo's.
Vendetta
episode S14.E21 april 2004A former prisoner exonerated on murder charges kills another man. He claims he wouldn't have done it if he wasn't wrongfully imprisoned in the first place, so prosecutors must prove that he had a prior history of criminal behavior.
Gaijin
episode S14.E22 april 2004The murder of a prominent Japanese model visiting New York City may have been a Yakuza-related murder for hire.
Caviar Emptor
episode S14.E23 may 2004A Persian caviar businessman is found dead in his bed, and the victim's children and new young wife become murder suspects.
C.O.D.
episode S14.E24 may 2004Two women are accused of conspiring to murder each other's husbands, but Jack and Serena are forced to try the cases simultaneously and separately. Meanwhile, Detective Briscoe announces his retirement.
Paradigm
episode S15.E1 september 2004Green and his new partner, Joe Fontana, investigate the murder of an Iraq War veteran who has more incriminating Abu Ghraib prison photos. An Iraqi woman who is an American citizen is charged, but she claims to be a prisoner of war.
The Dead Wives Club
episode S15.E2 september 2004A "9-11 Widow" who received a lucrative settlement after her firefighter husband's death is murdered. Another firefighter's ex-wife, who was dumped for the victim after 9-11, is charged.
The Brotherhood
episode S15.E3 september 2004A prison guard is charged with killing a released member of a white supremacist prison gang. The guard says the victim threatened him and his family. The gang also threatens the judge presiding over the trial.
Coming Down Hard
episode S15.E4 october 2004Two student suicides are connected to a university drug study. The investigation uncovers that the pharmaceutical company that commissioned the study may have known about adverse side-effects, but tried to cover it up.
Gunplay
episode S15.E5 october 2004Black market gun dealers murder two undercover officers during a gun buy. During prosecution, McCoy begins to suspect that a bitter defense attorney may have masterminded the entire episode.
Cut
episode S15.E6 october 2004A novelist dies after undergoing multiple plastic surgeries. Detectives believe that her doctor took unnecessary risks and falsified documents to cover it up. The DA's office charges him with criminally negligent homicide.
Gov Love
episode S15.E7 november 2004McCoy takes on gay marriage at the state Supreme Court when a man refuses to testify in a case involving the death of the governor of Connecticut's wife, because he says that he is married to the defendant.
Cry Wolf
episode S15.E8 november 2004A mob boss is accused of ordering a hit on a urban vigilante group leader who was seeing his mistress. However, when the mistress is killed before the trial, he insists that he truly loved her and had absolutely nothing to do with it.
All in the Family
episode S15.E9 november 2004A diamond broker's wife is accused of hiring Russian mobsters to arrange a hit on her husband.
Enemy
episode S15.E10 december 2004An Afghani drug lord is implicated in a drug-related massacre in New York. However, prosecution is difficult because the government considers him an ally in the War on Terror in Afghanistan.
Fixed
episode S15.E11 december 2004A frustrated prison social worker is accused of taking the law into her own hands with a dangerous man whom she knew was violating the terms of his parole agreement.
Mammon
episode S15.E12 january 2005A contractor is suspected in the murder of an investment banker after detectives discover that the home's security system has been tampered with, and he was having an affair with the man's wife.
Ain't No Love
episode S15.E13 january 2005A young hip-hop performer is accused of murdering a rap mogul, but his friend testifies during the trial that he is the killer. Serena objects to prosecution tactics, and Branch fires her.
- Who Let the Dogs Out?
- Armed Forces
- For Love or Money
- Soldier of Fortune
- Possession
- Formerly Famous
- Myth of Fingerprints
- The Fire This Time
- 3 Dawg Night
- Prejudice
- The Collar
- Undercovered
- DR 1-102
- Missing
- Access Nation
- Born Again
- Girl Most Likely
- Equal Rights
- Slaughter
- Dazzled
- Foul Play
- Attorney Client
- Oxymoron
- Patriot
- American Jihad
- Shangri-La
- True Crime
- Tragedy on Rye
- The Ring
- Hitman
- Open Season
- Asterisk
- The Wheel
- Mother's Day
- Chosen
- Under God
- Absentia
- Star Crossed
- B*tch
- Suicide Box
- Genius
- Maritime
- Seer
- Kid Pro Quo
- House Calls
- Sheltered
- Couples
- Smoke
- Bodies
- Bounty
- Patient Zero
- Shrunk
- Blaze
- Identity
- Floater
- Embedded
- Compassion
- Ill-Conceived
- Darwinian
- Payback
- Married with Children
- City Hall
- Veteran's Day
- Can I Get a Witness?
- Hands Free
- Evil Breeds
- Nowhere Man
- Everybody Loves Raimondo's
- Vendetta
- Gaijin
- Caviar Emptor
- C.O.D.
- Paradigm
- The Dead Wives Club
- The Brotherhood
- Coming Down Hard
- Gunplay
- Cut
- Gov Love
- Cry Wolf
- All in the Family
- Enemy
- Fixed
- Mammon
- Ain't No Love
Best moments10
- A ring found on a skeleton in Hell's Kitchen indicates that the victim is a woman who was reportedly killed in the World Trade Center on 9-11. A member of a powerful political New York family is charged with her murder.
- A mother claims self-defense after she kills her schizophrenic son who was involved in a hit-and-run death.
- Serena is asked as a lawyer to help resolve a hostage situation. But her actions threaten to get her disbarred because she didn't disclose to the captor that she works as a prosecutor and wasn't his personal counsel.
- A young hip-hop performer is accused of murdering a rap mogul, but his friend testifies during the trial that he is the killer. Serena objects to prosecution tactics, and Branch fires her.
- A murder investigation leads detectives to a judge who may be taking bribes from a select group of divorce lawyers to rig their cases.
- A pair of feuding siblings who share ownership of a building are suspects in the murder of a tenant who may have been keeping them from selling the building for millions of dollars.
- An illegal Mexican immigrant is accused of killing his wife's sweatshop boss because he was their baby's father. He claims, however, that his wife was forced to be her boss's surrogate mother.
- An investigation into the murder of a private investigator leads to the discovery of a Honduran immigrant illegally playing in a New York youth baseball league.
- A prison guard is charged with killing a released member of a white supremacist prison gang. The guard says the victim threatened him and his family. The gang also threatens the judge presiding over the trial.
- A teenage converted Muslim from a wealthy New York family acts as his own counsel in his murder trial, claiming that he is a victim of an American Anti-Muslim conspiracy.
- The Ring
- Mother's Day
- DR 1-102
- Ain't No Love
- Floater
- Possession
- Ill-Conceived
- Foul Play
- The Brotherhood
- American Jihad