The long-running crime series that launched a handful of spin-off series is making its return to NBC early next year. Law & Order has unveiled the upcoming season's first casting announcements. Anthony Anderson will return to the series, reprising the role of Detective Kevin Bernard, whom he played during the show's original final three seasons. The news of Anderson's return is timely given that Black-ish, which he has starred in and executive produced for eight seasons, is set to begin its final run on ABC on January 4.
Anderson is currently the only original cast member attached to the Law & Order revival. Other iconic cast members from the original series, including Sam Waterston, are still in talks to return. Grace and Frankie, which Waterston has starred in for the past eight seasons, is also set to end in early 2022.
NBC has also shared that Hugh Dancy will join the Law & Order cast in a lead role alongside previously announced Jeffrey Donovan. Dancy will be playing an Assistant District Attorney and Donovan is set to play an NYPD detective. Neither character has a name yet. Dancy is no stranger to the world of crime television or NBC, having played Will Graham on the series Hannibal for the show's three seasons. 2022 looks to be a busy year for Dancy as his other upcoming projects include the Downton Abbey feature film, Downton Abbey: A New Era, and the Apple TV+ series Roar, which also stars Nicole Kidman, Issa Rae, and Cynthia Erivo.
Series creator Dick Wolf is attached to the revival, having stated that seeing the series return to television over a decade after its sudden cancellation in 2010 is "literally a dream come true." Season 21 of Law & Order will also feature Rick Eid as showrunner and executive producer. Eid's credits include Law & Order's original run, as well as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and the short-lived Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Eid has also had a hand in several other popular crime shows including FBI, Chicago P.D., and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Law & Order is one of the longest-running drama series in primetime history, bested only by its equally, if not more, popular spin-off series Law & Order: SVU, which has been on the air since 1999. The Law & Order franchise recently brought back Christopher Meloni to reprise his role as Elliot Stabler in his own spin-off, Law & Order: Organized Crime, reinvigorating one of TV's most memorable will-they-won't-they relationships between Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler in the process.
Season 21 of Law & Order is set to premiere on NBC on February 24, 2022.