Law & Order Season 22 Will Tackle Supreme Court Overturning Roe V. Wade — Plus, Scoop On Price's Past
NBC's Law & Order will soon return with more ripped-from-the-headlines stories in Season 22, which premieres Thursday, Sept. 22.
Most of the crew will be back, including Hugh Dancy (Hannibal, The Path) as senior prosecutorial assistant Nolan Price, Oldelya Halevi (Good Trouble) as ADA Samantha Maroun, Camryn Manheim (The Practice) as Lt. Kate Dixon, Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) as Frank Cosgrove, and franchise vet Sam Waterston as DA Jack McCoy. Plus, Grimm's Claire Coffee will appear in at least one episode this season, as a lawyer.
Anthony Anderson, however, will not return as Det. Kevin Bernard. (As TVLine previously reported, the L&O alum had signed on for just one year of NBC's revival.)
There's plenty to look forward to in the new season — including an unprecedented three-way crossover between the flagship procedural and spinoffs SVU and Organized Crime that will serve as the season premiere for all three shows. See below for an extended preview of Law & Order Season 22.
The three-way crossover is a cohesive story.
Law & Order will kick off Season 22 as part of a three-way crossover with SVU and Organized Crime. (Important note: The crossover will, for one night only, have Organized Crime lead things off, followed by SVU and then Law & Order proper.) The episodes were written by Law & Order showrunner Rick Eid and Chicago P.D. showrunner Gwen Sigan.
The plot follows a young girl shot in cold blood, with Law & Order detectives Cosgrove and Shaw (played by new cast addition/Supergirl vet Mehcad Brooks) searching for her killer. SVU's Benson and Organized Crime's Stabler are called in to help, and once key evidence is uncovered, Law & Order's Jack McCoy and Nolan Price seek justice against an international crime ring, until complications threaten the outcome of their case.
According to Eid, the crossover will be a cohesive story that features Benson, Stabler and Donovan throughout all three episodes. "It's not a handoff from one show to the next," he tells TVLine. It's really one story that involves all the characters from the different shows."
Anthony Anderson’s exit will be addressed.
Det. Bernard's exit will be mentioned in the second episode of Season 22, following Mehcad Brooks's debut as Jalen Shaw in the crossover. Shaw will transfer over to the precinct after working with Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan), and that's when we learn that Bernard has left.
"You get the idea that Cosgrove liked working with him, and then we find out that the character Anthony [Anderson] played has moved on," Eid explains.
We'll meet someone from Price's past.
Upcoming Law & Order episodes will not only tackle relevant stories but also explore the backstories of its main players on a deeper level. For example, in one of the first few episodes of Season 22, we'll meet someone from ADA Nolan Price's past. "It's not a bad past, it's more of a woman past," Eid teases.
The Law & Order boss also notes that the show will continue to do the same kind of episodes where they "try to explore what's happening in society and create some level of cultural conversation around what's going on." However, the new season will include more character development and "maybe a little more action at times."
The new season will tackle Roe v. Wade.
Eid says this season will include a "really exciting episode that speaks to the Supreme Court's recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade, that I think is really interesting."
More Law & Order cameos?
As for cameos from Law & Order alumni, there are no on-screen returns planned for Season 22 just yet. However, Eid says that they "definitely want to bring people back in different capacities." (Remember how last season's premiere featured the return of Carey Lowell as prosecutor Jamie Ross?)
"It's all about how you fit them in and take advantage of the opportunity," he notes. "You have an obligation to make their role interesting and not just have them show up and talk for a scene. You want to make it a real story."
Are you excited for Law & Order Season 22? What do you hope to see in the new season?
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