Law and Order followers left reeling over forged shake-up
Law & Order is set to welcome a new senior detective to the force — while waving goodbye to another.
Reid Scott, who has played Senior Detective Vincent Riley for three seasons, is set to leave the long-running police procedural.
The 48-year-old Veep and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star reportedly had one year left on his contract, but Deadline reports that he made the decision to exit early due to his family living in California while the show shoots in New York.
Scott is set to be replaced by James Badge Dale, who will star as a new Senior Detective.
Dale, also 48, is best known for film roles including 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi.
He made his film debut in a 1990 adaptation of Lord of the Flies, while back in 2002 he appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. His new character is not expected to be related to his previous appearance in the franchise.
Scott will give his character a proper send-off, and is currently filming his final episodes. No date has yet been announced for his last episode, and it has not yet been revealed how Dale’s character will take over his role in the show.
Fans have reacted with disappointment to news of Scott’s departure, with many pointing out his rapport with castmate Hugh Dancy.
One X user wrote: “Oh no! Reid Scott is leaving Law & Order! Now I’m sad. Hugh and Reid had such good chemistry…”
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While another added: “Aww, Reid Scott is leaving Law & Order this season! Although apparently his departure will not be reduced to one line of dialogue in the season premiere, but instead, he will be back for a few episodes before being replaced.”
One user expressed excitement about Dale joining the cast, saying: “For the last couple of seasons L&O can’t keep detectives. But I do love James Badge Dale and excited to see him on one of my fav shows. If you have not seen him in Hightown, go watch now.”
This is just the latest casting shake-up for the show in the last few years, with another fan observing “The constant cop-centric shakeups on Law and Order have been a bummer,” before listing recent departures and adding: “Totally get why Reid would exit, but it’s hard for that portion to get a rhythm going.”
Law & Order, which initially ran for 20 seasons between 1990 and 2010 before being revived in 2021, is known for its ”revolving door” casting policy that has led to many changes over its lengthy run.
However, some characters do manage to remain on air for decades. Last September, fans were up in arms after a character was killed offscreen after 35 years.
NYPD captain Donald Cragen, played by 75-year-old Dann Florek, first appeared in the original Law & Order series and subsequently starred in spin-off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
In the season 27 premiere of Special Victims Unit, which is TV’s longest-running live action series, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) paid tribute to her former leader, calling him the best boss she’s ever had.
“Everything I know about being a captain, I learned from him,” she said.
Fans were shocked by the revelation of Captain Cragen’s death, with one writing: “What do you mean we didn’t even get a proper goodbye scene between Captain Benson and Captain Cragen?? He is just gone???”
Another wrote: “Was excited for Law and Order: SVU to come back and they killed off Cragen?!?!?” while an additional fan said they are “so sad” by the decision.
