Main Cast and Characters in the Current Law & Order Series
The current revival of Law & Order features a core ensemble led by Sam Waterston as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy, who has held the role since the series returned in 2022. Waterston joined the original franchise in 1994 and became the longest-serving lead in the Law & Order universe, anchoring the show's legal procedural format with a focus on case preparation and courtroom strategy Learn more about Sam Waterston's role. Co-starring alongside him is Anthony Anderson as Senior Detective Kevin Bernard, a position he has held since the 2022 revival, bringing a modern investigative style to the precinct desk. Anderson's casting was announced by NBC in 2022 as part of a deliberate refresh of the detective role, pairing him with Waterston's steady prosecutorial presence.
Other central cast members include Jeffrey Donovan as Senior Detective Frank Cosgrove, who joined the main lineup in 2024, and Maura Tierney as Executive Assistant District Attorney Nora Lewin, a role she stepped into during the revival's third season. The casting structure follows the franchise's established two-track format, splitting screen time between the detectives who gather evidence and the prosecutors who build the case, a framework that has defined Law & Order since 1990. Tierney's character works closely with McCoy to navigate plea deals, evidentiary challenges, and high-profile trials, maintaining the show's signature focus on the legal system's inner workings.
History of Cast Changes Across the Law & Order Franchise
The original Law & Order series, created by Dick Wolf and developed for NBC, premiered in 1990 and ran for 20 seasons before its initial cancellation in 2010, establishing a record for the longest-running live-action primetime series in American television history at that time Read the full Law & Order franchise history. During its original run, the show cycled through multiple lead actors, with Chris Noth starring as Detective Mike Logan from 1990 to 1995, followed by Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green from 1999 to 2008, and later Linus Roache as Executive ADA Michael Cutter in the final seasons. Each transition was paired with new casting announcements from NBC and Wolf Films, the production company behind the series.
After the 2010 cancellation, the franchise expanded with spin-offs including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which remains on the air, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which ended in 2011. The 2022 revival of the original series marked a return to the original title and format, with Dick Wolf Productions and Universal Television producing the new seasons. The revival's cast was built around existing franchise actors, with Waterston reprising his McCoy role and new additions like Anderson and later Donovan filling the detective chair, a strategy designed to balance continuity with fresh audience appeal.
Production Companies, Network, and Franchise Scale
Law & Order is produced by Wolf Films and Universal Television, with distribution handled by NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast that oversees the show's broadcast and streaming availability Get details on the Law & Order revival production. The series airs on NBC in the United States and is available on streaming platforms tied to NBCUniversal's content portfolio, including Peacock, which has hosted past seasons and the revival's episodes. The production model relies on the franchise's long-standing two-part episode structure, with the first half following the detectives and the second half following the prosecutors, a format that has been replicated across multiple spin