8 ‘Law & Order’ Stars Who Need to Return for Season 21 on NBC

Law & Order - S. Epatha Merkerson, Jesse L. Martin
Jessica Burstein/NBC via Everett Collection

As soon as Wolf Entertainment announced that the original Law & Order will soon return to NBC, fans started speculating about which stars will come back for the 21st season. (Anthony Anderson, who played Junior Detective Kevin Bernard from Season 18 to Season 20, said recently that he “did have a conversation” with Dick Wolf, the creator of the series.)

Alas, casting for the revival hasn’t been announced, and fans know precious few details about Season 21. But we do know that the new episodes “will continue where the show left off in 2010, with the classic format that explores two separate, yet equally important groups: ‘the police who investigate crimes and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders,’” as Wolf Entertainment explained.

So who will still be maintaining law and order when the NBC classic returns? Here are the L&O alums on whom fans are pinning their hopes…

Chris Noth in Law & Order
Gerry Goodstein/NBC via Everett Collection

Chris Noth as Junior Detective Mike Logan

“Bring back Mike Logan!” a Twitter fan demanded. And a Reddit user advocated for some judicious retroactive continuity, writing, “I hope they retcon Logan quitting. Although since it happened on Criminal Intent, they could just pretend it didn’t.”

S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren in Law & Order
Virginia Sherwood/NBC via Everett Collection

S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren

“You are bringing my girl Anita Van Buren back, too, right?” asked a Twitter fan. Another person wrote, “If S. Epatha Merkerson is not returning as Anita Van Buren, I don’t want it.”

Law & Order, Sam Waterston
Will Hart/NBC via Everett Collection

Sam Waterston as District Attorney Jack McCoy

One Reddit user said Jack McCoy is “literally the only one I care about.” A Twitter user, meanwhile, wrote that the D.A. character “will always be my first serious silver-fox character crush.”

Law & Order, Benjamin Bratt
NBC via Everett Collection

Benjamin Bratt as Junior Detective Rey Curtis

“Now, bringing Benjamin Bratt back would be a good move,” one Twitter user suggested. And a Redditor even had a plot suggestion, writing, “I would love for them to make Curtis the lieutenant or captain now.”

Angie Harmon in Law & Order
Kevin Foley/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Angie Harmon as Assistant District Attorney Abbie Carmichael

“I’d love to see Abbie back as the E.A.D.A.,” one Redditor wrote. “She was the last A.D.A. I really liked on the show, to be honest, but I don’t think it’s realistic. It’d probably be a demotion for her to go back to the D.A.’s office, even as an E.A.D.A.”

Law & Order, Jesse L. Martin
Will Hart/NBC via Everett Collection

Jesse L. Martin as Senior Detective Ed Green

“Jesse L. Martin returns or we riot,” a Twitter user threatened. And a Reddit user wrote, “I really just want Green back, though. I swear it’s all I think of when I see Jesse on The Flash.”

Law & Order - Jeremy Sisto as Senior Detective Cyrus Lupo
Virginia Sherwood/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Jeremy Sisto as Senior Detective Cyrus Lupo

“I’d love to know if Lupo ever finished law school, and if he was called to the New York Bar. And if he started making better relationship decisions,” a fan wrote on Reddit. Another Redditor simply asserted that Sisto “is badass as an actor.”

Law & Order - Linus Roache
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Linus Roache as Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter

“Bring back Cutter, dammit,” a fan tweeted. A Redditor, meanwhile, observed that “the character of Cutter, who is more than willing to achieve ends by any means while still maintaining integrity, is unique and intriguing.”