NBC's new (old) Law & Order adds Anthony Anderson and Hugh Dancy
Anthony Anderson will be reprising his role as Detective Kevin Bernard
What is this, a crossover episode?! Law & Order: Cannibal Intent? Whatever joke you want to make, NBC’s revival of the original Law & Order series is going to bring back Anthony Anderson—who starred in the final few seasons of the show’s original run as Detective Kevin Bernard—and throw in Hannibal star Hugh Dancy as an assistant district attorney.
Anderson is the first old Law & Order star to join the new series, but NBC reportedly really wants Sam Waterston to come back in some capacity, and Dancy is the first member of Team Law to be cast in the series. Joining Anderson on Team Order is newcomer Jeffrey Donovan, who we heard earlier this month would be playing a detective. NBC was oddly quiet about any details for Donovan’s character beyond that, so he might also be a spy. (That’s another crossover joke, this time about Burn Notice!)
There’s no word on Jeremy Sisto’s Detective Cyrus Lupo, who was Detective Kevin Bernard’s partner, but maybe Sisto was just waiting to see what Anderson did before he agreed to sign up. He’s on CBS’ FBI show, so he’s at least still in the Dick Wolf family.
With Anderson on board, though, we’re at least acknowledging for the first time that this will serve as a canonical continuation of the original Law & Order series rather than some kind of total reboot like all of those Spider-Man movies. We didn’t really think that would happen, but it would’ve been a compelling fan theory if NBC had failed to bring back any old Law & Order characters.
The new old Law & Order, which NBC is considering the 21st season of the original show, comes from showrunner Rick Eid. It’s set to premiere on NBC on February 24.