Sam Waterston, the longest-running cast member of ‘Law & Order’, is saying goodbye to the show after 30 years.
The veteran actor, who has portrayed DA Jack McCoy for more than 400 episodes, will make his final appearance on Feb. 22nd. Tony Goldwyn, who starred as President Fitzgerald Grant on ‘Scandal’, will join the show as the new DA.
Waterston, 83, first joined the show in its fourth season in 1994, and has been a staple of the legal drama ever since. He has been nominated for three Emmys and a Golden Globe for his role, and has won a Screen Actors Guild Award in 1998. He has also appeared in several spin-offs of the show, such as ‘Law & Order: SVU’, ‘Law & Order: Trial by Jury’, and ‘Law & Order: True Crime’.
Waterston has not commented publicly on his departure, but he has expressed his love for the show and his character in previous interviews. He once said that he was “flattered” and “grateful” to be part of the show, and that he enjoyed working with the cast and crew. He also said that he was “proud” of the show’s legacy and impact, and that he hoped it would continue for a long time.
Tony Goldwyn, 63, is no stranger to the ‘Law & Order’ franchise, as he previously played Detective Frank Goren on ‘Law & Order: Criminal Intent’ for two seasons. He is also known for his roles in movies such as ‘Ghost’, ‘The Pelican Brief’, ‘Nixon’, and ‘Oppenheimer’, as well as his directing and producing credits.
‘Law & Order’ is the one of longest-running scripted drama series in US television history, with 23 seasons and over 500 episodes. The show, created by Dick Wolf, follows the cases of the New York City Police Department and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and is known for its ripped-from-the-headlines stories and its iconic “dun-dun” sound effect.
‘Law & Order’ airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. on NBC. You can watch Waterston’s last episode on Feb. 22nd, and Goldwyn’s first episode on March 1st. You can also stream the show on Peacock, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
