Many fans are disappointed with the news that Anthony Anderson is not returning for Law & Order Season 22.
Bernard was not only the only cast member to return after the 10-year hiatus but also many fans’ favorite of the three characters on the cop side of the hour.
Still, though, now that Law & Order Season 21 has wrapped up, we have high hopes for the next season!
Before Anderson’s announcement, many fans hoped that Bernard would get a new partner over the summer break.
Jeffrey Donovan is doing a fine job, but Cosgrove is one of the most annoying cops to have hit the Law & Order franchise! He’s always making a snide remark that demonstrates that he’s out of touch with current issues.
To his credit, he did support a gay teenager’s right to be who they are on Law & Order Season 21 Episode 6, but still.
For the most part, Cosgrove embodies every problematic stereotypical white cop. This is not to say that Law & Order shouldn’t address racial issues and systemic problems within the police force. But Cosgrove seems too one-dimensional to be realistic, which doesn’t do anyone any favors.
The original Law & Order is one of the most challenging to write for. In the time that’s passed between Law & Order Season 20 and Law & Order Season 21, the world has changed significantly, especially in terms of how viewers feel about cops.
There’s a massive chasm between viewers who are eager for police reform or even abolishment and those who want cops to be treated with more respect and dislike the emphasis on racism in police shows.
In addition, the other Law & Order shows include more stories about the characters’ personal lives, especially Law & Order: SVU. After over two decades of stories that include the cops’ personal problems, the more stoic, plot-focused Law & Order falls flat.
That’s not to say that the stories aren’t still compelling. But we have a wish list for Season 22 because some things need to be improved. Please scroll down to check out our thoughts.
Bernard’s replacement gels with their partner well.
Since Cosgrove seems to be here to stay, let’s hope he gets a new partner that he gels with.
Many Law & Order fans fondly remember Briscoe and Logan and later Briscoe’s new partner, Ed Green. These relationships helped keep us entertained during the cop portion of the hour.
We don’t expect anyone to match the character the late Jerry Orbach portrayed so well, but we NEED a detective team that works better than Bernard and Cosgrove did — especially since the better half of the last team is gone.
More cases with personal involvement.
Every case can’t have a personal stake for the detectives. That wouldn’t be compelling or realistic.
But one of the most compelling recent episodes involved Lieutenant Dixon’s determination to catch a killer who had gotten away from her previously.
Those stories make Law & Order more interesting, so let’s have more of them!
More mashups of several real stories.
Law & Order specializes in ripped-from-the-headlines cases.
But it’s more fun when the series takes two or three unrelated stories and mashes them up into one compelling case, as they did on Law & Order Season 21 Episode 4.
Since this is a fictional series, the cases don’t have to follow real-life perfectly, and mashing up different stories to make a point is an excellent way for the writers to use their creativity and keep viewers engaged!
Less random comments that aren’t related to the case.
Viewers were torn about the debates between Cosgrove and Bernard.
Some viewers loved that issues related to racism and other systemic problems were now a regular part of the dialogue, while others felt like they were unnecessary asides.
Dialogues about race and policing are essential to have. Still, the comments often seemed unrelated to the story, which contributed to viewers feeling like the writers’ views were being imposed on them.
That’s not conducive to helping people understand these issues. We want Law & Order to continue to confront racism but to do it in a way that feels more organic. When Law & Order Season 21 Episode 10 directly involved racism, it worked much better than these throwaway lines about racial issues.
More crossovers — maybe even with other Dick Wolf shows!
Viewers were excited by Benson’s cameo on Law & Order Season 21 Episode 10. After all, several cases seemed like they had been natural fits for some help from SVU.
But Benson’s appearance was tangential to the case and had to do with a victim we’d never heard of before. If Law & Order is going to do a crossover, it should be a real crossover.
In addition, there’s no reason to limit crossovers to SVU once COVID protocols are relaxed enough to allow them more regularly. A double crossover night between the Chicago shows and all three Law & Orders might be compelling, but we’d settle for a crossover between Law & Order and Chicago PD.
More ambiguity about who’s going to win the case.
Nolan won 9 out of ten cases on Law & Order Season 21.
It felt like winning was a given and that the suspense, if you could call it that, was only over how Nolan was going to pull another guilty verdict out of a jury that shouldn’t have been inclined to agree with him.
A longer season will allow for a more even record rather than the DA’s office wins being baked into the formula. That would raise the stakes for the lawyer half of the hour and make the stories more compelling.
More Jack McCoy!
There has been no news as of this writing as to whether Sam Waterson will return for Law & Order Season 22, but we hope he does.
After all these years, Jack McCoy is still a fan favorite, and many fans were disappointed that he only made a few appearances per episode.
Of course, McCoy is now the head of the department rather than trying cases himself, but if Waterson is game for another season, we’d love a lot more of him!
More of Michael Beach as defense attorney Harris.
One of the more compelling aspects of Law & Order has always been the courtroom drama. There need to be two or three defense attorneys that viewers can count on to fight just as hard for their clients as the DA’s office fights to put the defendants away.
Michael Beach’s character is one such attorney. He’s been on twice and has been a compelling adversary.
Besides, who can say no to more Michael Beach, no matter what role he’s playing?
Your turn, Law & Order fanatics. Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know what you’re hoping for when the new season hits our screens.
If the summer hiatus seems long to you, don’t forget you can watch Law & Order online right here on TV Fanatic.
Law & Order is part of NBC’s Thursday Law & Order block. It will return for Season 22 sometime during the fall of 2022.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.