‘Law & Order’ Alum Reveals He’s Been Approached About Returning to Revived Series

The original Law & Order is coming back, but mastermind Dick Wolf and NBC have not announced which stars will return for the beloved legal drama’s return. Black-ish star Anthony Anderson, who played Det. Kevin Bernard in the last three seasons of Law & Order, confirmed he has been approached about returning. Since Black-ish is coming to an end this season, he could be available to contribute to more stories about the two separate yet equally important groups in the criminal justice system.

“I did have a conversation with Dick Wolf. I will just say that,” Anderson teased in an upcoming episode of Rachael Ray’s show, reports Deadline. “So, we’ll see what the future holds.” Anderson said he was a fan of the series before he was cast and still watches reruns. Anderson’s full interview with Ray will air during the Monday, Oct. 14 episode.

NBC and Dick Wolf Productions surprisingly announced the return of the original Law & Order on Sept. 28. Season 21 will pick up from where the original show ended in 2010. The peacock network abruptly canceled Law & Order after its 20th season, keeping the show from breaking its tie with Gunsmoke as the longest-running primetime dramas in U.S. history. Wolf broke the record anyway with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which recently started its 23rd season.

Wolf didn’t announce which cast members will be coming back. He will serve as executive producer, alongside Rick Eid, Authur Forney, and Peter Jankowski. “There are very drew things in life that are literally dreams come true. This is mine,” Wolf said when the revival was announced.

In a follow-up interview with Variety on Oct. 5, Wolf said Season 21 will follow the same format as the first 20 seasons. “This will be Season 21, so it’s the same Law & Order everyone knows from the first 20 years,” he explained. “So there’s really nothing to fix, we just want to continue telling great stories. Casting as always will be three cops and three D.A.s.”

Anderson’s Det. Kevin Bernard was introduced partway through Season 18 as the junior detective paired with Jeremy Sisto’s Det. Cyrus Lupo. Their lieutenant was Anita Van Buren, played by S. Epatha Merkerson, who know stars in the Wolf-produced Chicago Med. The last season’s stars on the law side were Sam Waterston as D.A. Jack McCoy, Linus Roache as E.A.D.A. Michael Currter and Alana De La Garza as A.D.A. Connie Rubirosa. It’s possible that McCoy could still be D.A. in the Law & Order universe, as he was last seen onscreen in the role in the SVU Season 19 episode “The Undiscovered Country.”