Melissa Ponzio occupies an interesting place in Chicago Fire history. She’s appeared in 33 episodes over the course of a decade, making her simultaneously a notable yet fleeting presence within the lives of the other characters.
It’s unlikely that Chicago Fire fans will get to see much more of Ponzio, since her character, Donna Boden, is married to a character who is no longer part of the main cast. That being said, she will not be hurting for work. Ponzio will be joining the cast of the legal drama Reasonable Doubt for its 2nd season.
Melissa Ponzio will play a Las Vegas D.A.
According to Deadline, Melissa Ponzio will be playing a District Attorney named Lucy Wargo. She’s new to the city of Los Angeles and will be eager to make her mark through “icy determination to do the right thing.”
Even without her tenure on Chicago Fire, Ponzio is one of the hardest-working actresses on TV. She made her small screen debut on Dawson’s Creek back in 2001, and has continued to land supporting roles in beloved shows like One Tree Hill, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Walking Dead.
Ponzio’s most famous, non-Chicago Fire role, however, is probably her turn as Melissa McCall on Teen Wolf. She was a recurring presence during the first five seasons of the teen show, and was promoted to series regular in season 6. Ponzio also reprised her role in the 2023 Teen Wolf movie.
Ponzio is an established TV veteran
The actress explained that she likes to play different kinds of characters in an effort to challenge herself. She also told Traversing the Stars that her background in journalism helped her to specialize in memorizing scripts and scenes for TV auditions.
“You’re getting it [the script] last minute … It keeps you on your feet,” she told the outlet. “You’re not gonna be able to take away the entire character description if you only have a couple hours with the audition. But you have to take enough of it to make some choices.”
Ponzio’s most recent role was in the 2024 comedy series The Big Door Prize.
This article was originally published on onechicagocenter.com as Chicago Fire alum to join cast of Reasonable Doubt season 2.
