“Law & Order” nearly became the longest-running crime drama series on television. If not for its 10-year hiatus, it would have reached its 24th season a long time ago.
Thanks to this break, sister show Law & Order: SVU moved forward by two seasons.
Still, Law & Order is one of NBC’s most popular shows, from the “dun dun” ringing between scenes to being filmed on location in New York City. It’s time for a cast and character guide to help you keep track of who you can expect to see (and who you won’t!) during Season 24 of Law & Order.
Two characters will not return
Many viewers were shocked when Jack McCoy (Sam Waterson) left Law & Order after more than 400 episodes.
Watterson has been with the series since season four and is perhaps more connected to it than any other character.
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Watterson’s exit was dramatic and surprising enough, but then Camryn Manheim announced that she would not be returning for season 24.
Manheim has played Lieutenant Kate Dixon since the 2021 Law & Order continuation began.
We don’t know who will replace her.
However, there are several characters that we know will return. Please scroll down to check out the full list!
Mehcad Brooks as Detective Galen Shaw
Galen Shaw has been part of the investigation team since Season 22 of Law & Order, replacing Anthony Anderson’s Kevin Bernard.
Shaw is one of the most interesting cops on the show in recent years.
He’s a former defense attorney who knows the ins and outs of the law, disapproves of using questionable methods to obtain confessions, and is painfully aware of the way the legal system is stacked against black suspects.
He is not one to suffer fools gladly and almost lost his job in retaliation for filing a complaint against some white patrol officers who mistook him for a suspect because of the color of his skin.
Unfortunately, he had to drop his complaint because his failure to comply with their orders to get to the ground undermined his claim that they used excessive force to subdue him.
Despite experiences like this (and sometimes having to rein in his white partners), Shaw generally has a positive attitude toward work and life.
If he looks familiar, he’s likely played several roles before this one, most notably James Olsen on Supergirl.
Brooks also played opposite another face familiar to Law & Order fanatics in Necessary Roughness, which co-starred Callie Thorne as a psychologist who worked with athletes whose mental barriers were interfering with their ability to perform at their best (or at all).
In that series, Brooks played football hero TK King, who had a heightened sense of his own abilities and importance.
Necessary Roughness Exclusive: Mehcad Brooks on TK’s Antics, Season 2 of the Drama
Nowadays, he plays the guy on Law & Order who would most likely interrogate King and not accept any BS from him!
Vincent Reilly (Red Scott)
Riley is the newest addition to the Law & Order team. He joined the team at the beginning of season twenty-three to replace Frank Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan).
Riley is somewhat of an enigma. We don’t know much, if anything, about his family life, but we do know that he got into trouble several years ago at work due to drinking and a misguided sense of loyalty.
Alcoholic cops who abuse their power when drunk are a tired TV image, but Reilly is a little different. He punched another police officer while trying to defend Dixon, who was abused and suspended for six months.
Riley still has some impulse control issues. Shaw had to stop him from hitting suspects or unnecessarily pulling his gun from time to time.
Reed Scott is a versatile actor. He plays a completely different character in Amazon Prime’s The Idea of You. In this movie, he is a sleazy ex-husband who hates his wife dating a celebrity after she’s done with him.
Like Mehcad Brooks, Scott has starred with Law & Order alumni before.
One of his first roles was in the series My Boys, co-starring Jordan Sperano (recently seen as Agent Shana Sykes on Law & Order: SVU).
RELATED: Law & Order SVU Season 26: Cast and Character Guide
Outside of Law & Order, Scott is best known for his roles in Veep and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Maisel.
We hope he continues to portray Riley as a complex, multi-layered character for years to come!
Nicholas Baxter (Tony Goldwyn)
Tony Goldwyn’s Nicholas Baxter has big shoes to fill. He replaces Jack McCoy, who was appointed by Sam Watterson to the position of Manhattan District Attorney.
So far, Baxter seems to resent the comparisons to McCoy and is determined to be his own person.
He often argues with Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price, not only over case strategy but over whether Price is unfairly comparing him to McCoy.
His insistence that Price had already written him off as “not as good as McCoy” may be a projection. It can be difficult to follow in the footsteps of a legend!
RELATED: Law & Order Season 24: Everything We Know So Far About the Latest Season of NBC’s Iconic Crime Drama
Season 23 of Law & Order ended with a cliffhanger: Baxter doesn’t yet know if he won the district attorney election and appears to be trailing in the vote count.
However, as far as we know, Tony Goldwyn is returning for Season 24, so Baxter will likely win in the end.
If we had to say goodbye to Sam Watterson, Tony Goldwyn might be the best actor Law & Order could have replaced.
He is an accomplished actor who is best known for playing President Fitzgerald Grant III in ABC’s Scandal.
Many viewers wonder if his character on Law & Order will soon show a harsher side.
Goldwyn also played Harold Nixon in the 1995 Nixon biopic, so he had a penchant for political figures.
Baxter has also shown to have much more taste for politics than Jack McCoy ever did, as he seemingly sacrificed his family for his run for DA.
It will be great to see what his character will do during Season 24.
Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy)
As Executive Assistant District Attorney, Price serves as the lead on most investigations and decides prosecution strategy.
He is always disagreeing with his boss about how to proceed.
McCoy and Baxter had been concerned about whether Price might win during previous seasons, although McCoy trusted his judgment much more than Baxter did.
RELATED: Is the formula that made the original law and order a success now outdated?
Price has a tendency to pull off miraculous victories – half the time, it looks like a case is a lost one, only for him to get another conviction at the last second.
Hopefully that changes in Season 24, as it gives Law & Order a Perry Mason-like quality that doesn’t match its brand seriousness.
Hugh Dancy is a well-known British actor. He’s from the other side of the pond despite his convincing American accent in Law & Order.
He starred in several British series before getting gigs in America (sadly, Law & Order: UK wasn’t among them).
He also played an autistic character in the movie Adam, which revolves around a love story between an autistic man and a neurotypical woman.
Law & Order is his third series. You may also recognize him as Will Graham from Hannibal or Cal Roberts from Hulu’s The Path.
Assistant Prosecutor Samantha Maron (Adila Halevy)
Samantha Marron is the newest and youngest member of the prosecution team.
She brings a unique perspective as a Lebanese woman, and often clashes with Nolan as she champions feminist issues.
She also often sympathizes with immigrants, especially from the Middle East or other marginalized people.
She had a sister who was murdered (which seems to be a theme in Dick Wolf shows lately!) and this fuels her passion for justice.
Although Maroun is Lebanese, the actress who plays her is originally from Israel. Her family immigrated there to escape persecution in Yemen.
Halevy came to Los Angeles when she was 19 years old to pursue her dream of acting. She has appeared in several other television series besides Law & Order.
RELATED: Law & Order’s Odila Halevy Talks About Working on Her Dream Show
Outside of Law & Order, Halevy is best known as the original actress who played Angelica in Good Trouble.
Who are the guests who will appear on Law & Order?
Law & Order is known for having a steady stream of guest stars, both famous and new to the industry, who play victims, judges, and defense attorneys.
This show is so closely associated with New York that many New York-based actors dream of having a guest role, and people who are known for other things often appear in this show.
Do you have an actor you’d really like to make a guest appearance? Who is your favorite from the current broadcast crew?
Hit the big, blue View comments Click and let us know!
Law & Order Season 24 will air on NBC on Thursdays at 8/7c in fall 2024. New episodes will stream on Peacock the following day.
Jack Urey Senior Writer at TV Fanatic. His debut novel for young adults, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.
