The Law & Order Universe Welcomes Two New Stars

The New Kids on the Law & Order Block: McManus & Goldblum

The Law & Order franchise universe is a little bit like the weather in Cleveland, Ohio: just wait a few minutes and it will change.

This past week, one replacement was announced for Law & Order SVU, and one change and replacement were made for Law & Order Criminal Intent.

For SVU, a replacement was named for Diane Neal, who played ADA Casey Novak. The new ADA, yet to have a name, will be played by Michaela McManus. Michaela had a recurring role on "One Tree Hill,” a show that I never watched and know absolutely nothing about. This is a good thing for me, because I’ll be watching her performance starting with a clean slate.

And, for Law & Order Criminal Intent, it was reported yesterday by many sources that Chris Noth will be leaving the show, and be replaced by Jeff Goldblum. This isn’t the first time that Noth has taken his leave of the franchise, and one can only wonder if they’ve planned an exit for him that will make it certain he can’t come back. Chris seems to be in the media a lot lately, with the recent successful release of the “Sex and the City Movie.” As a result, I find myself wondering, has Chris caught the “David Caruso Syndrome,” where he leaves TV because he thinks movies will be his big ticket? Needless to say, while Chris is much older than Caruso when Caruso snubbed his nose at TV, Chris may have a slightly better chance at having a movie career. But, with Noth seemingly typecast as the handsome leading man, I am not sure if he can milk this for too much longer, seeing that he seems to be getting a little rough around the edges.

Goldblum, on the other hand, may be a good spark for Criminal Intent. While CI seems to be making interesting and compelling story lines for the Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathyrn Erbe half, the Noth/Wheeler half has been stagnant. Personally, I think they never had quite the right feel for Mike Logan. Goldblum may be a bit of a risky bet, as some seem to either love him or hate him. I admit that I am on the fence about him, and keep reminding myself of the good movies he’s been in, and try to forget the bad. My only hope is that they create an interesting character for him.

Of course, the “original recipe” Law & Order underwent a huge cast shakeup last year, and I hope no more are planned for a while. It also goes without saying that the franchise needs to protect those stars that fans consider “THE FRANCHISE,” which are Sam Waterston, Vincent D’Onofrio, Chris Meloni, and Mariska Hargitay. Having one of those people leave any of those shows would be the equivalent of a supernova explosion in the Law & Order universe, one that I am not sure shows – or the fans -could survive.


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