Law & Order Lands TV Icon for Season 24

A TV icon is joining the next season of NBC’s Law & Order, with the 24th season starting in October 2024. Maura Tierney is joining the cast of the long-running NBC police drama, as first reported by TVLine. Details on her character are currently being kept scarce, but Tierney is reportedly slated to play a new lieutenant on the force. This new character will replace Camryn Manheim, who departed the series after playing Lieutenant Kate Dixon for three seasons and 45 episodes.

Manheim wasn’t the only series regular to exit the long-running cop drama. In February 2024, Sam Waterston stepped away from the show after playing District Attorney Jack McCoy for decades. Tony Goldwyn, best known for playing President Fitzgerald Grant in the long-running ABC series Scandal, joined the cast as the new DA, Nicholas Baxter. Speaking about the departure of Manheim to The Hollywood Reporter in May 2016, Executive Producer Dick Wolf thanked the actress for the time she put in and called her a “class act.” Wolf’s full statement can be read below:

I thank Camryn for her three wonderful seasons helping us relaunch Law & Order. She is a class act, and I wish her nothing but the best for her next chapter.

The original Law & Order ended after 20 Seasons back in 2010, but it was revived for season 21 in September 2021. As mentioned earlier, Sam Waterston returned as Jack McCoy. Anthony Anderson returned to the series as Detective Kevin Bernard. Manheim, Odelya Halevi, Hugh Dancy, and Jeffrey Donovan all joined the cast. However, Manheim was not the first new recruit to leave Law & Order. Jeffrey Donovan left the show in 2024 as well. He previously played Detective Frank Cosgrove. Reid Scott, best known for his time on Veep, stepped in as Detective Vincent Riley, a personal recruit of the recently departed Lt. Dixon (Manheim).

However, despite the departures, the original Law & Order series continues to march strongly toward its October debut.

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Maura Tierney Comes Into the Lieutenant Role as a Well-Seasoned Veteran of NBC’s Thursday Night Lineup

Aside from major roles and movies such as Liar Liar, Semi-Pro, and Baby Mama, Tierney is best known for her role in the hit hospital drama ER. Tierney spent a decade on the show and portrayed Dr. Abby Lockhart for nearly 200 episodes. She’s also no stranger to cop dramas as she stars in American Rust as Grace Poe.

Maura’s recent big-screen roles include playing matriarch of the Von Erich wrestling dynasty, Doris Von Erich, in A24’s gripping drama The Iron Claw. Tierney also appears in Twisters, currently in theaters, as Cathy, the mother of a storm chaser who has rediscovered their love of that particular thrill.

While details of Maura Tierney’s new role are currently few and far between, Wolf Entertainment and fans of the series can rest assured that they have someone with a great resume and who is very dependable. Also, no matter what, there will always be further expansions into the Law & Order Universe. With hundreds of episodes across multiple series, Law & Order is still growing with a Canadian spinoff in Toronto, Ontario.