LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: Dean Norris and Michael Trotter Preview the Very Messy Stabler Family Intervention

April 8, 2024 by Marisa Roffman

Law and Order Organized Crime Semper Fi preview

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME — “Sins Of Our Father” Episode 408 — Pictured: (l-r) Ellen Burstyn as Bernadette Stabler, Michael Trotter as Joe Stabler Jr,, Dean Norris as Randall Stabler. — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME returns on Thursday, April 11 with the Stabler family facing another crisis: Joe Jr. (Michael Trotter) is using drugs and needs an intervention.

“It’s my idea to do the intervention and I think it’s gonna go [easy],” Dean Norris, who plays eldest Stabler brother, Randall, previews in character to Give Me My Remote in the video below. “Chit chat and we talk a bit and we walk out, holding hands, and we take him to rehab. Spoiler alert, doesn’t happen that way.”

“It winds up being a little bit messier than that,” Trotter adds.

For Joe Jr., who has been quietly spiraling and keeping secrets from Randall and Elliot (Christopher Meloni), the ambush is a blindside.

“I think what you’ll see is a shift in mindset,” Trotter previews. “He thinks it’s going to be one thing and it winds up being something completely different. And the transition between the two is the recognition that they, in his mind, betray him. Like any addict, he doesn’t see the very issue that’s right in front of them. Not at all, and not like other people, especially the ones that love him, can see it. And I think what you’re going to experience is the denial that oftentimes comes when faced with your own problems. You just don’t want to hear it. And you generally don’t believe that it’s a problem. And I think the manifestation of that is what you’ll see in the scene which is anything but pleasant. And anything but Kumbaya.”

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME — “Sins Of Our Father” Episode 408 — Pictured: (l-r) Dean Norris as Randall Stabler, Ellen Burstyn as Bernadette Stabler — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

Unfortunately for the Stabler brothers, that isn’t the only problem on their plate. Family matriarch Bernie (Ellen Burstyn) has been deteriorating and was supposed to move into an assisted living facility—over Elliot’s objections; he wanted to take care of her himself—until Randall decided she should live with him, in his newly acquired New York apartment.

“[Bernie’s problems are] the reason he finally came back into the family 20 years after the fact; [to] start dealing with her,” Norris points out. “And I think once he gets back there in New York and sees his mom again and sees his brothers, he decides, ‘Hey, man, I kind of missed this. I’ve missed a lot of family time.’ And so he ends up staying in New York and ultimately, has his mom stay with him. So, I think her deterioration…as things happen this way in life, it makes him think of his own mortality, and…how many years I’ve got left. I should maybe make up some time here.”

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME — “The Last Supper” Episode 404 — Pictured: Michael Trotter as Joe Stabler Jr. — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

Joe, meanwhile, has been back in town for months…but caught up in his personal issues. “I think my lies, the many lies that I’m continuing to live and perpetuate, compounded with my addiction, is blinding me to really take an active part in helping out,” Trotter says in character. “It’s not that I don’t recognize literally what’s happening with her and I think there’s probably a level of that reality that pushes me more towards the lies and the addiction. But I’m certainly not capable in any way to take on any responsibility with her; I’ve got too much going on. It’s selfish by nature. But, you know, it’s taking every last energy to continue to sort of live the lie successfully.”

Fortunately, things are much smoother for the actors off-screen. Both men previously worked on projects with OC star Meloni—Norris on the film SMALL TIME and Trotter on the series UNDERGROUND—which has helped solidify how they wanted to portray their camaraderie.

“The previous thing I worked with him on, in which we played used car salesmen, best buddies, I think it’s important,” Norris admits. “I think it’s great. I think it just added something that you get to bring into the situation; I felt like I could play his brother from day one. And then meeting Michael was, quite frankly, the same thing. I think we just all kind of instantly actor-bonded and it just felt really natural, from day one.”

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME — Season:4 — Pictured: (l-r) Dean Norris as Randall Stabler, Adam Harper as Carl, Autumn Mirassou as Maureen Stabler, Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler, Henry Gross as Seamus, Michael Trotter as Joe Stabler Jr., Ellen Burstyn as Bernadette Stabler, Colin Keane as Kieren, Nicky Torchia as Eli Stabler, Allison Siko as Kathleen Stabler, Kiaya Scott as Becky, Kaitlyn Davidson as Elizabeth Stabler, Jeffrey Scaperrotta as Dickie Stabler — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

The reel and real-life age difference between the actors (“Unlike Dean, I have a full head of hair, which is nice,” Trotter jokes, much to Norris’ amusement.) has led to Trotter going in “the opposite direction” with their bond.

“My sort of brother experience with both of them was always from a distance,” Trotter points out, in character. “I didn’t grow up with them in the same house and have the experiences that they probably did as kids growing up together, just because of the age gap.”

“And so I think I wanted to find subtle ways to represent that reality…there needed to be something kind of missing, as a brother, with them,” he continues. “Something that kind of has its roots in the fact that I didn’t have exposure to brothers as I was growing up. They were more of an ideal, more just kind of stories that were being passed down to me, as opposed to me actually being there and experiencing it in childhood. I thought it was important to try to find a way, subtly, to kind of put that out there.”

Trotter, however, is also quick to praise his on-screen brothers. “For me, [the previous work experience] certainly shows; the rapport between Dean and Chris is remarkable and incredibly natural,” he says. “[And for me,] there was a familiarity with Chris, [because] I knew him personally.”

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME, Thursdays, 10/9c, NBC

RELATED:

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page or our Instagram.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.

Filed under Law & Order: Organized Crime

Comments Off on LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: Dean Norris and Michael Trotter Preview the Very Messy Stabler Family Intervention

Comments

Comments are closed.

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: Dean Norris and Michael Trotter Preview the Very Messy Stabler Family Intervention

Related Posts

Comments

Recent Posts

GMMR Favorites

Matched content