‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ Ended 25 Years Ago: 16 Actors Who Later Joined ‘Law & Order’ Shows
It didn’t have Dick Wolf on its payroll or that dun-dun sound effect introducing new locations, but Homicide: Life on the Street is still an unofficial entry in the Law & Order universe.
After all, before Det. John Munch (Richard Belzer) was on the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit beat in NYC, he was investigating murders in Baltimore as one of Homicide’s crime-solvers.
Created by Paul Attansio and based on a book by The Wire creator David Simon, Homicide is one of our picks for the best shows of the 90s, the most culturally influential shows of all time, and (unfortunately) the great TV shows not currently available for streaming. (That unavailability might be rectified soon, Simon says.)
And Belzer was far from the only actor to get a Law & Order job after a Homicide stint. Check out others below as we mark the 25th anniversary of Homicide’s series finale on May 21.
Ned Beatty
Beatty starred as Det. Stanley Bolander for Homicide’s first three seasons. More than a decade later, he portrayed Judge Malcolm Reynolds in Law & Order’s Season 19 episode “Zero.”
Richard Belzer
Belzer, of course, brought his Det. John Munch to the first 15 seasons of SVU — and to episodes of 30 Rock, Arrested Development, American Dad, The Wire, and many other shows.
Andre Braugher
The late actor who played Det. Frank Pembleton on Homicide went on to recur as defense attorney Bayard Ellis in six episodes of SVU.
Reed Diamond
After starring as Det. Mike Kellerman in Homicide Seasons 4–6, Diamond guest-starred in episodes of Law & Order and Law & Order: LA. He recently appeared in Law & Order: Organized Crime as D.A. Noah Cahill.
Vincent D’Onofrio
Before D’Onofrio co-headlined Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Det. Robert Goren, the actor had a memorable role as John Lange, a man pinned by a subway train, in the Homicide Season 6 episode “The Subway.”
Jeffrey Donovan
Donovan portrayed twin brothers Newton and Miles Dell in Homicide’s Season 4 installment “Thrill of the Kill.” He’d go on to guest on Law & Order in Season 17 and then star on the same series as Det. Frank Cosgrove in Seasons 21 and 22.
Kathryn Erbe
Erbe, who partnered with D’Onofrio as Det. Alexandra Eames on Criminal Intent, guest-starred as Rita Hale in Homicide’s Season 6 episode “All Is Bright.”
Giancarlo Esposito
A star of Homicide’s final season, Esposito played FBI agent Michael Giardello on the show. He later guest-starred on Law & Order: Trial by Jury and played defense attorney Rodney Fallon on three episodes of the original Law & Order.
Peter Gerety
Known to Homicide fans as the actor who starred as Det. Stuart Gharty in the show’s last two seasons, Gerety subsequently guest-starred on Law & Order, Criminal Intent, Trial by Jury, and SVU.
Clark Johnson
Johnson is only one of four actors to have starred in all 122 episodes of Homicide, and he reprised his role as Det. Meldrick Lewis in the SVU Season 15 episode “Wonderland Story” so Lewis could attend Munch’s retirement party.
Melissa Leo
Leo played Det. Kay Howard in Homicide’s first five seasons, then made her second and third Law & Order appearances and a turn on Criminal Intent, playing different characters each time.
Carolyn McCormick
McCormick, who played psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Olivet in four L&O series (Law & Order, Trial by Jury, Criminal Intent, and SVU), also played Linda Mariner, the wife of a sniper, in Homicide Season 4’s “Sniper” two-parter.
Christopher Meloni
Meloni, whose Det. Elliot Stabler formerly co-headlined SVU and now leads Organized Crime, guest-starred as bounty hunter Dennis Knoll in Homicide’s seventh-season two-parter “Wanted Dead or Alive.”
Michael Michele
Michele joined Homicide for its final season, starring on the show as Det. Rene Sheppard. She later guest-starred in SVU Season 8’s “Burned,” playing Valerie Sennet, one half of an estranged couple whose divorce had deadly consequences.
Jon Seda
Seda starred in Homicide’s last two seasons, playing Det. Paul Falsone. He went on to star as Antonio Dawson in the One Chicago franchise and played that role on SVU in the Season 17 crossover episode “Nationwide Manhunt.”
Callie Thorne
Thorne is another alum of Homicide’s final two seasons: She played Det. Laura Ballard. She later guest-starred on Criminal Intent and the original Law & Order, and she has played defense attorney Nikki Staines in eight SVU episodes so far.
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Man, I miss Homicide. One of my all-time favorite shows. Here's to David Simon being correct, that we'll soon have it on streaming.I didn't see mentioned in the article, but there were a few crossovers between Homicide and L&O back in the day, with the story starting on one show and concluding on the other. Makes it "fun" when you catch a rerun of L&O without the preceding or concluding episode of Homicide available.
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Totally agree!!
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It’s been on charge tv for a awhile now
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It's on streaming now! You can get it on Peacock and it's also on Pluto tv; and, yes, there were a couple of crossovers with L & O and nothing has been more frustrating over the years as watching an episode of L & O that was originally part of a crossover with Homicide only to not have the Homicide portion!