Anthony Anderson will not be returning for Season 22 of “Law & Order,” Variety has confirmed.
Anderson signed a one-year deal when NBC relaunched the series for its 21st season this year, and has decided not to continue as Detective Kevin Bernard in the procedural drama’s next season. Original series star Sam Waterston, who plays Jack McCoy, also only signed a one-year deal, but it is not yet clear if he has chosen to continue or depart the famed franchise.
“Law & Order” and spinoff “Law & Order: Organized Crime” were both recently renewed for new seasons on May 10. The Dick Wolf show originally premiere on NBC in 1990 and ran for 20 seasons until it was canceled in 2010. However, NBC announced the series’ revival in September 2021, with Season 21 premiering in February. Continuing its original bifurcated format, “Law & Order’ pledges to tell the story of “the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.”
In Season 21, Anderson and Waterston were joined by Jeffrey Donovan, Camryn Manheim, Hugh Dancy and Odelya Halevi. “Law & Order” is produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television. Wolf, Arthur Forney and Peter Jankowski executive produce along with showrunner Rick Eid.
In Variety‘s review of the “Law & Order” revival, critic Daniel D’Addario praised the show, writing that its “new look comes in on the margins, in a procedural that seems at the very least concerned with framing its subjects with something other than reflexive sympathy for law enforcement, and for the prosecution.”
Deadline Hollywood was the first to report the news of Anderson’s departure.