‘Law & Order’: First Look at Tony Goldwyn’s ‘Magic’ as Jack McCoy’s Replacement (VIDEO)

Tony Goldwyn is bringing some of his “magic” to Law & Order when he debuts as the new district attorney Nicholas Baxter in the March 14 episode. He takes over from Sam Waterston‘s Jack McCoy, who resigned in his final episode.

“The end of an era, cheers to Sam,” Mehcad Brooks (who plays Detective Jalen Shaw) tells TV Insider. “He was a beacon of virtue for over two, three decades, really, and it was such an honor and a privilege to get to work with him. And what a funny, just enticing individual and just a lovely human being, an incredible actor, and he will be missed.”

The promo, which you can watch above, offers a look at Goldwyn as Baxter and him and Price (Hugh Dancy) clashing. “He’s ambitious, and he wants headlines,” Price says. “He wants to do things his way,” Maroun (Odelya Halevi) adds.

Brooks has been a fan of Goldwyn “since the ’90s,” he shares. “I’ve been a fan of Tony Goldwyn since I was a kid, and I actually worked with this daughter on a show called Supergirl. She’s a writer. She’s really talented, Anna. And so when I heard it was Tony Goldwyn, I had the same reaction that everybody had. I cheered, I clapped, I was like, yes! He’s just that kind of actor who has built up so much acumen that you trust that he can do anything, and he can.”

Goldwyn’s first scene was with Brooks and Reid Scott (who joined as Detective Vincent Riley this season). “On paper, you’re like, how is this going to work?” Brooks admits. “And then Tony comes in, and he’s just so good. He does something with the scene that no one saw coming. It was funny and awkward, and it just had this Tony Goldwyn magic to it. And I think the audience is going to fall in love with him, truly.”

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As for what we’ll see from Shaw and Baxter, “we’re not sure yet. I think Shaw has a very deliberately careful view of the world,” says Brooks. “He solves murders for a living. He doesn’t trust anybody at first. And so I think what happens is he sees Baxter as the replacement, but also as maybe a politician. Maybe this is a stepping stone for him. How serious is he going to make the relationship? Is he going to heal the relationship between the police and the DA’s office? That remains to be seen.”

After all, McCoy was there a long time, so no matter who came in next, it would mean an adjustment.

“Even if we didn’t always agree with McCoy’s office, we knew what to expect, which means we knew what to put together to make the case,” Brooks agrees. “And that’s Shaw’s background. He’s always thinking, as a former lawyer, what do I need to put together to make the case? And so for Baxter, we don’t know if that bar is lower, which is not a good thing, or if that bar is way too high, which is also not a good thing.”

Law & Order, Thursdays, 8/7c, NBC