Special Agent Sheryll Barnes (Roxy Sternberg) returns to FBI: Most Wanted after spending some time in D.C. with her ex-wife and kids in the November 12 episode, and she doesn’t waste any time throwing herself right into a case.
“It is definitely an adjustment,” Sternberg tells TV Insider of this new normal for her character. “She’s spent some time in D.C. She tells everyone she’s happy to see [her kids] settle down, but I think deep down, she’s, of course, broken. Her kids are her everything. And so to not have them nearby anymore is heartbreaking, but she’s happy to throw herself into work.”
In “Pig Butchering,” that means investigating a scam call center from where she received a distressing call from a young girl. “I feel like she’s trying to save her children almost through [the girl] Jessie,” explains Sternberg. “She wasn’t able to keep her own children nearby, so in doing this, it’s kind of her way of getting close to her children.” It’s also a great distraction from her home life.
Barnes also “wants to prove herself at work,” the star adds. “She’s fantastic at what she does and she’s seen an opportunity which she sees that Remy [Dylan McDermott] is missing. She needs to be excelling at work if she can’t be excelling at home.”
Barnes and Remy do clash over her pursuing this case, with Hana’s (Keisha Castle-Hughes) help.
“I see something clear as day and he doesn’t see that, and I feel like I have nothing to lose at this point,” says Sternberg. “In the end, I did go behind his back, so that’s why the conflict plays out. I was right, but I didn’t obey orders, which I need to when I’m working in a team and when I have a boss. Ultimately, it was all for the better good, but I wasn’t being a good team player.”
The two have butted heads since Remy came in and took over as team leader following Jess’ (Julian McMahon) death. “We had those moments where I was missing Jess, and I wasn’t invited on a helicopter ride for the takedown and I took that personally,” Sternberg recalls. “I was like, Jess would never do something like this.” She doesn’t know why the two clash like they do, but she enjoys playing the conflict.
FBI: Most Wanted, Tuesdays, 10/9c, CBS
