LAW & ORDER at TCA: Live-Blog

LAW & ORDER is back after almost a dozen years off the air, and the cast and creative team are participating in a virtual Television Critics Association panel to talk about the iconic drama’s return.

Follow along (starting at 12:30 PM PT) for what executive producers Dick Wolf and Rick Eid, as well as stars Anthony Anderson, Hugh Dancy, Jeffrey Donovan, Odelya Halevi, Camryn Manheim, and Sam Waterston…

12:30 PM: Wolf is sick, and unable to be here today.

12:32 PM: “One of the most amazing things about being on the show is you come to work, and then New York’s finest actors come to play with you,” Manheim says. She’s been delighted by their guest stars already.

12:33 PM: Eid says Wolf has been telling him for more than a year about the show coming back, asking if he would be in. In May or June of 2021, Wolf told him it was happening and Eid says he jumped at the opportunity.

“One of the reasons we’re back is because of his persistence,” Waterston says of Wolf. He notes they stopped making the show, but the audience never stopped watching it.

12:35 PM: “You’ll definitely see some familiar faces along the way,” Eid says. “There are so many great actors who have been involved in the show, and the opportunity for them to come back in some capacity is really exciting.”

12:36 PM: Waterston says he wants Wolf to get an honorary Tony for the work he’s done for the community. Anderson jokes Waterston should call the Emmys to get him one, since he’s 0-11.

12:37 PM: “For me, it says it felt like no time at all,” Anderson says of returning. He called Wolf about returning when he heard it was being revived, expressing an interest to come back to the franchise.

12:39 PM: Waterston says he’s been scrambling to work his entire career.

For Anderson, he’s ending BLACK-ISH as he’s returning to L&O. “It was a no-brainer for me,” Anderson says. He hopes 20 years from now people want to come back for a BLACK-ISH reboot. Anderson notes that he’s also a fan of L&O in addition to him two-plus years on the franchise.

12:42 PM: “I think we’re going to try our best to reflect the world we live in now…2022 is a unique moment in time, and our stories and characters reflect what is happening in society,” Eid says of how they’ll handle police reform. He notes policing—and prosecuting—is different than it was even a couple of years ago.

Waterston says he finds the approach is “really exciting.” “Every show is a shock,” he says.

12:44 PM: After Anderson compares his return to being on a well-worn saddle, Dancy jokes for him it’s like being on a brand new saddle. He’s been having fun figuring out the show and its culture, which he praises as being amazing.

Halevi accidentally mutes herself—and then gets frozen—which the cast has fun with. She says she’s a big fan of the franchise: She watched and wanted to be a lawyer. Her mom pointed out she didn’t want to be a lawyer, she wanted to be on TV.

Donovan jokes “they don’t let me have a saddle…I think it’s because of Anthony saying I can’t have things.” Donovan says he’s the “biggest fan” of the show and this cast. He watched when he was in NYU and was jealous of his friends who got to be on it.

“So why didn’t you recognize me when we met?” Waterston cracks.

Manheim has been on the show three times prior to this, and jokes the only thing that hasn’t been updated is the precinct set. She also notes she’s “really proud” to be a part of it.

12:49 PM: “Dick always says that action is character,” Waterston says. “The actions of McCoy are being defined by Rick. It’s different and interesting and great to find out.”

Anderson says the “magic” of the show is you don’t get super into the characters’ personal lives, which allows it to pick up whenever; it’s about the crime, not them.

12:52 PM: Will there be personal storylines/background information this season? Eid says he’s not sure how they’ll handle it yet. “It’s story first on this show. I think you’ll see hints of personal backstories and how they ”

12:53 PM: The team is coy about potential crossovers. “Crossovers have been very successful in the Dick Wolf universe,” Eid says of possible crossovers. “There’s a chance there will be a two-part of a three-part LAW & ORDER crossover. Anything is possible in this universe.”

12:55 PM: “We’re aware of the issues in society and problems in society and ultimately those types of issues will be addressed,” Eid says when asked whether the show will handle the rise in anti-Asian crime.

12:57 PM: The cast is having a lot of fun with Eid, bantering amongst themselves about Zoom technique and how to answer questions.

12:58 PM: “Every single episode seems to take something from the headlines and then uses that as an entryway into the arguments that are being had across the country,” Dancy says.

Meanwhile, Anderson and Donovan keep teasing each other, and it’s absolutely delightful.

Update: After the panel, Wolf released this statement about the show’s return: “In 1990, Brandon Tartikoff had a belief in the viability of “Law & Order.” When Sam Waterston joined the show in 1994, the ratings grew and the show earned the Emmy Award in 1997. For the next 16 years, Sam was the face of the show. As you know, we were abruptly cancelled in 2010 and for 11 years it was my dream that one day the show would return and break the 20-season tie with “Gunsmoke.” The talks with Universal and NBC, which were ongoing for the past seven years, heated up in 2020. My first call was to Sam, who graciously agreed to return, and I called Rick Eid, who has a long history with me and is the ideal showrunner. So not only did my dream come true, I have my dream cast: Sam, Anthony, Hugh, Jeffrey, Camryn and Odelya. As always, we will be ripping crimes from the headlines while also reflecting the zeitgeist of present-day America.”

LAW & ORDER, Premiere, Thursday, February 24, 8/7c, NBC

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