‘Law & Order’ Returns With 21st Season After 12 Years With Familiar Formula

After 12 long years off the air, the original Law & Order aired the first episode of its brand-new 21st season last Thursday, with series actors Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston stepping back into the roles as Detective Kevin Bernard and D.A. Jack McKoy respectively.

Law & Order is one of the longest-running scripted American primetime series, second only to its massively successful spinoff show, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The show cemented the position of the police procedural as a staple of broadcast television, spawning more imitators than we have time to name right now.

Anderson’s Kevin Bernard is joined by a new partner Frank Cosgrove, played by series newcomer Jeffrey Donovan. Other new cast members joining the iconic franchise’s new season include Camryn Manheim, who plays lieutenant Kate Dixon, and Hugh Dancy, who plays Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price.

According to reviews of the 21st season premiere, if you like Law & Order then you’re in for more of the same. Besides some references to modern issues of the time, like people filming police with cellphones or a brief allusion to defunding the police in dialogue, the usual Law & Order formula is pretty much untouched. Cases are still wrapped up neatly at episode ends, and they are still divided up into the now-classic Investigation and Trial halves of each case.

New episodes of Law & Order‘s 21st season will air on Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.