Law & Order kicks off its milestone 25th season in the fall 2025 TV schedule, but not the entire cast from Season 24 is returning. Despite Odelya Halevi's ADA Samantha Maroun possibly committing murder as the cliffhanger back in the spring, Mehcad Brooks' Detective Jalen Shaw is the one who won't be back. Ahead of the new season, his former costars spoke with CinemaBlend about how he's being written out, with his replacement already set.
News of Mehcad Brooks' departure broke back in October, so Shaw's absence in the premiere on September 25 (and streaming next day with a Peacock subscription) won't come as a shock. I was fortunate enough to speak with the stars during NBC's recent Law & Order press event, and Reid Scott – who plays Detective Riley, Shaw's former partner – said:
I am interested to see how the audience reacts to that, because, on one hand, it could come across as a bit unceremonious, certainly, but I don't think that that is necessarily inauthentic to how it would actually happen In real life, in that people move within this department. They change precincts, they get transferred, they change jobs.
Exits from Law & Order tend to be pretty unceremonious, with the exception of Sam Waterston as DA Jack McCoy. Anthony Anderson, Jeffrey Donovan, and Camryn Manheim were all written out between season, and Manheim is the only one who really got a detailed exit story. Maura Tierney, who plays Lieutenant Jessica Brady, agreed with her costar, adding:
It doesn't mean they're not going to see each other ever again. It's just that they changed their job.
That at least indicates that the Law & Order team didn't consider killing Jalen Shaw off between seasons, so the story may end in a way that he could come back if needed (and if Mehcad Brooks would hypothetically be available). Reid Scott continued:
There's this brotherhood, this sisterhood that exists, so when one person moves on in whatever fashion, it's really more sort of like, 'See you down the road and thank you for your service,' and then it's back to work. Your job is there to protect. You're there to serve. It's going to be interesting to see how they react.
While the absence of Jalen Shaw is going to affect Reid and Brady the most, that doesn't mean the Law half of Law & Order won't feel an impact. Hugh Dancy, who is in his fifth season as ADA Nolan Price, shared what it's like to work on a procedural show with relationships that are somewhat more serialized:
The thing that drives the show is the regularity of the weekly cases, and that is always going to be the way it works. But I think if it's, let's say, five percent threaded through that of a sense of these people moving alongside each other and developing relationships, I think it's all really helpful. And I know that, yes, that cast change is coming up. There's, there's somebody going to be joining us... but that's exciting as well, honestly, when somebody else comes in, because it just subtly shifts the shape of the show.
The cops losing Shaw doesn't mean that the only law enforcement officers of Season 25 will be Riley and Brady. Star Trek: Discovery's David Ajala has been cast as a new detective to parter with Riley, according to TVLine. Law & Order should certainly be a more grounded experience for Ajala than his years in the Star Trek franchise.
Details about Ajala's character are scarce other than that he'll be working with Riley, but it's good to know that Law & Order losing Shaw doesn't mean Riley will have to go without a partner. As for whether Season 25 brings back Shaw for a. one-off appearance or even just mentions him again, viewers will just have to tune in and find out.
New episodes of Law & Order Season 25 will air on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, with the premiere debuting on September 25. As usual, Law & Order: SVU follows in the 9 p.m. ET time slot, while NBC is also going to air the fifth season of Law & Order: Organized Crime that already released in full on Peacock.
