Serinda Swan Previews Her ‘Coroner’ Character on the New CW Series

Newly appointed Toronto coroner Jenny Cooper (Ballers‘ Serinda Swan) is a grieving family’s last hope for answers and closure. In this new crime series — a recent Canadian import based on the novels by M.R. Hall — the former ER doctor investigates unexplained or suspicious deaths with type-A zeal. Let’s learn more about the intriguing character.

She’s in mourning too

Jenny is unexpectedly widowed and uprooted in the premiere and must quickly rebuild with her teen son, Ross (Ehren Kassam). She’s also dealing with fuzzy memories of her sister’s death when they were children and begins to probe what actually happened. “I love Jenny because she’s cracked but not broken,” Swan says.

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She seeks truth

On her first case with jaded detective Donovan McAvoy (Roger Cross), Cooper suspects suicides at a teen detention center are really murders. To prove it, she looks to the deceased, a process Swan prepared for by observing an autopsy. “The pathologist handled the body with grace and respect. When they took out the brain, my brain was like, whoa, that’s me. It was beautiful, sad, humane and human.”

She has a close relationship with pharmaceuticals

Anxiety plagues Cooper but doesn’t define her. “She’s a very capable woman going through a rough moment,” Swan notes. Still, at high-stress moments, she hallucinates a black dog. “It will be revealed in a cool way what the dog means, if it’s a memory or not.”

(Credit: 2020 Muse Entertainment Enterprises, Inc.)

She’s not sure how to be single

After a night of awkward conversation, she impulsively hooks up with hot handyman/veteran Liam Bouchard (Éric Bruneau). “She wants to feel something. Instead of taking a pill, she takes him,” Swan says. “It [turns into] a fun relationship because it’s not perfect by any means. And he is not ugly!”

Coroner, Series Premiere, Wednesday, August 5, 9/8c, The CW