Supergirl Alum Mehcad Brooks Joins Law & Order Cast for Season 22
Supergirl alum Mehcad Brooks is trading in his Guardian suit for an NYPD badge.
Brooks is set to play a detective in Season 22 of NBC‘s Law & Order, TVLine has learned. Additional details — like his character’s name — have yet to be revealed.
Brooks starred as Supergirl‘s Jimmy Olsen, aka the superhero Guardian, before departing the CW series in Season 5. He returned for the series finale, which aired in November 2021. His additional TV credits include True Blood, The Game, Necessary Roughness and a 2011 episode of Law & Order: SVU.
Brooks’ casting comes on the heels of franchise vet Sam Waterston inking a new deal to return as beloved DA Jack McCoy. Conversely, Anthony Anderson will not be back as Det. Kevin Bernard next season.
The flagship procedural also stars franchise newcomers Hugh Dancy (Hannibal, The Path) as senior prosecutorial assistant Nathan Price, Oldelya Halevi (Good Trouble) as ADA Samantha Maroun, Camryn Manheim (The Practice) as Lt. Kate Dixon and Jeffrey Donovan as Det. Frank Cosgrove.
Rick Eid, who also serves as showrunner, previously teased more character-driven stories pending a renewal. “I’m excited about next season,” he told TVLine. “I think next year, we’ll get an opportunity to dig even deeper into the character stuff, which really excites me.”
The Law & Order boss also alluded to additional cameos in Season 22, saying, “I’m sure next year you’ll see some.”
Going in the wrong direction. We need more cops and robbers and less backstory!
Agreed. One of the main reasons I prefer original L&O over SVU is that we don’t have to follow these people home every episode and get into the minutiae of their personal lives. I couldn’t care less about their love lives and such. Just stick to the original formula.
I agree!
I also agree. Thats why I stopped watching SVU.
Mehcad is top tier acting! I’m not concerned with him being cast. My concern is that he won’t be given true material to bring out what he has. Rick Eid has shown us what he has to offer out of this reboot and it is nothing good. How Wolf and NBC hasn’t replaced him yet is beyond me.
Understanding who the characters are helps viewers connect with the characters.
Over the years we have met children and significant others of some of the characters. We’ve learned details about them that explain their onscreen story and interactions with other characters.
Lou sued the department after being passed over for a promotion. Lenny’s daughter had multiple issues before being murdered and he was an alcoholic. Jamie Ross fought a custody battle, Ray’s wife had MS, Abby Carmichael disclosed a past rape…..
Mecad will be a Wonderful addition to the cast. He has a pleasant, yet commanding deep voice. I first saw him in Supergirl and liked him right away. Good Luck.
I agree with the choice to replace Anderson. He was good in Supergirl and enjoyed his performance as James Olsen. Looking forward to seeing him on Law and Order
he was one of the few good things about supergirl, him and jeffery jordan before they decided to jump the shark
I for one am sorry to see Mr. Anderson depart.
Me too. Now there will be no one but Sam Waterston from the original show. I really miss S. Epatha Merkerson from the original. The new police captain just doesn’t seem to have that same connection with the detectives.
Camryn Manheim is miscast.
Agreed. Her character worked for The Practice, but definitely not here.
Hugh Dancy’s character is named Nolan* Price.
He wouldn’t be the first Arrowverse to star on Law & Order.
This just doesn’t hold up to the original one with the exception of Sam Waterston. Characters seem like cardboard & maybe some belong only on a stage not on tv
I couldn’t agree more.
You do know Sam Waterston started out as a stage actor.
Brooks,
Will be a strong addition to the cast and will stand head and shoulders above cast and elevate every script by bringing a visceral energy to the screen, when his commanding voice is silent.
I am probably in the minority, but I enjoyed this season and cast, except for Camry who I think is a terrible miscast. I am glad to see Mehcad Brooks, added to the cast. He is talented and has the intensity needed for this show. I will be interesting to see how episodes and thought the leads were three dimensional and not ‘perfect’, which to me is more realistic than the ‘perfect’ characters that some viewers seem to want.
Nah, it’s a perfectly enjoyable show, but the empty cans rattle the loudest. Keep watching. I know I will!
I like that addition! He’ll be interesting to watch. Just don’t make all the dialogue & storylines focus on his race. He has a lot more to bring to the table than that!! Hope the writing & storylines improve for the next season.
His race is important…sad you don’t think so.
It’s not sad at all. I look more at the person. His race isn’t all he his. Why do we define people so much by their skin color?
Let me guess…you have the great privilege of never having to worry about your race?
That the show not be seen as preoccupied with race at the expense of its particular subject is important.Why are you complaining about a statement that Brooks has a lot more to bring to the table than his race?
I think the series got better as it went along and the cast gelled. They only had 10 episodes, so there wasn’t much opportunity for people like Camryn to do much. I love Epatha, but her role wasn’t much more than what we saw from Camryn when she first started. She had over a decade to earn devotion. Give Camryn more than what was less than half of those seasons.
New addition is good, no need for personal stories. Solve crimes, prosecute crimes. An execution would be good for some of the crimes committed.
The original series devoted an entire episode to characters reaction to an execution. It ended with the death of Claire Kincaid which Lenny and McCoy discussed a few times.
Another episode ended with a defendant from Canada trying and failing to avoid a death sentence during the penalty phase of her trial.
No death penalty in NY…
I couldn’t wait for this show to come back when I heard about it but I did not like it and my husband and I stopped watching part way through the season. They can bring on whomever they like but I don’t see my view changing. It lacks any of the chemistry and charm the original had, replaced by horrible, rushed police work and wooden, unlikable characters.
I was so excited for it to come back and then couldn’t get through 3 episodes. The feel just wasn’t the same, story telling was clunky and none of the characters actually felt like they were from NYC.
Ahh, great casting that I never knew I wanted! Brooks will bring great physicality to match up with Donovan who is also imposing. I hope for a fiery partnership that leads to great drama and eventually trust and respect!
JAMES Olsen LOL
I’m obviously in the minority, but I don’t like the new lawyers. Jack, is of course great, always will be. But I don’t like the new ADAs. I tried to like them, I REALLY did, but after a handful of episodes I gave up. I now fast forward through their scenes to the end of the episode to find out how it turned out.
I don’t have a problem with Hugh Dancy. He is a good actor, but I am just not convinced he is the right fit for this show. He just doesn’t seem comfortable in the role. As far as his assistant goes, she seems lost. Neither one seems to really want to be there. Maybe they will fit in better as times goes on, but I was so hoping they would bring back Linus Roache and maybe Angie Harmon since de la Garza is busy on FBI.
Jax from Mortal Combat!!! Wow. I
Love Him!!! Sexy man!! Omg. I will definitely be watching. He was recently in Tyler Perry’s Fall from Grace. That voice is magnificent. The body is not too shabby. Great replacement for Anthony Anderson. Whew!!!
A solid casting choice for the Law and Order revival. Mehcad Brooks gave a terrific portrayal on Supergirl, so I’m sure he’ll bring some additional gravitas to his new dramatic role.
I’ll reserve my judgment until I see Medcad in action. This isn’t the nineties where the original stars just needed to be cops or the actors naturally ooze personality. Throwing new people into the mix without any background or backstory is the reason why a lot of cop versus bad guy shows rarely made it big culturally back in the seventies to nineties. Anderson will definitely be missed. He has so much chemistry with Donovan. I hope excellent acting from the new guy equals chemistry with the rest of the cast.
He will help. Upbeat crimes fighting.