10 Original ‘Law & Order’ Actors We Want to See on ‘SVU’

Sam Waterston finally returned to the Law & Order franchise for the first time in eight years with an appearance on Law & Order: SVU this past week.

That got many fans wondering about other original Law & Order cast members we would love to see back on SVU.

The original Law & Order was unceremoniously cancelled after the 2010 season, making it one season shy of breaking its tie with Gunsmoke for the longest-running scripted TV drama. The franchise is still going though, thanks to SVU, which is now in its 19th season.

Creator Dick Wolf also added other L&O shows, each with their own twists. Law & Order: Criminal Intent ran 10 seasons, from 2001 to 2011. Other spin-offs – Trial by Jury, Los Angeles and Conviction – were not as successful. There was even a U.K. version that ran from 2010 to 2014.

Here are 10 original L&O characters we’d love to see on SVU, the last surviving L&O series.

Photo credit: NBC

Ed Green

Jesse L. Martin might be too busy with The Flash, but it would be great to see what Det. Ed Green is up to these days.

He retired at the end of his run in L&O, but is still alive. He also makes up one-half of L&O‘s most famous detective duo. Unfortunately, since Jerry Orbach’s death, it would be impossible to bring back Briscoe.

Abbie Carmichael

Angie Harmon should be available after TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles ended in 2016. She has not played Abbie Carmichael since 2001, and was a big part of SVU‘s first season until Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) was brought in. 

Rey Curtis

In the last season of L&O, Benjamin Bratt appeared in an emotional episode as Rey Curtis one more time. The character, who was also paired with Briscoe for four seasons, had one of the most fascinating backstories of all L&O detectives.

He struggled to care for his wife, and retired early to care for her in California. After her death from MS, he moved his family back to New York. Bratt currently stars on Fox’s Star.

Connie Rubirosa

Alana de la Garza’s Connie Rubirosa made an appearance on SVU in 2014. The character was moved to Los Angeles in a last-ditch effort to help the LA spin-off after L&O ended, but it did not help. She moved back to New York to work with the Feds when she was last seen.  

Kevin Bernard

The last three seasons of L&O featured Anthony Anderson’s Det. Kevin Bernard, who worked with Jeremy Sisto’s Lupo. Anderson is likely a little too busy with ABC’s Black-ish to make an appearance on SVU, but it would be cool to feature him in an episode. Considering Anderson is better known today, it would be a major event for SVU. 

Mike Logan

Chris Noth played one-half of the original detective duo on L&O, starring as Mike Logan. The character was punished at the end of season five, and moved to Staten Island.

However, he made a return in season four of Criminal Intent and also had his own movie called Exiled in 1998. Logan retired in his last CI episode, but maybe a cold case comes up where the SVU team needs their help.

Phil Cerreta

Logan worked with Sgt. Phil Cerreta in the second and third seasons of L&O before Briscoe came around. He was played by the great Paul Sorvino, who never again appeared on the show after his character left. He got a desk job after being shot in the spine. Cerreta would probably be retired by now, but it would be great to see Sorvino in the franchise again. 

Jamie Ross

Carey Lowell’s Jamie Ross was last seen as a judge in Trial By Jury. Somehow, the SVU crew has never met her as a judge. She was Jack’s A.D.A. in seasons seven and eight of Law & Order. Ross was a fascinating character, as she went on to become a criminal defense attorney, clashing with Jack after leaving the D.A.’s office.

Serena Southerlyn

Serena Southerlyn’s fate after D.A. Arthur Branch fired her was never answered. She was tied with Rubirosa as the longest-serving A.D.A., as they both appeared in 85 episodes. Elisabeth Rohm was excellent in the role, but she never appeared in any other L&O series. At the end of her last episode, she bluntly asked Branch if she was fired because she is a lesbian. 

Anita Van Buren

It would be amazing to see what happened to Lt. Anita Van Buren after her cancer treatment. She is likely retired by now, but she did not really get a proper send-off. There is one other odd situation here: S. Epatha Merkerson now stars as a different character in Chicago Med. Dick Wolf’s Chicago shows happen in the same universe as L&O, because he has already done SVU crossovers.

Cameos in SVU might be the only way to see these characters again. Wolf said in August plans for a L&O revival are going “nowhere.”