Last week we learned that Law & Order star Camryn Manheim, who plays Lieutenant Kate Dixon, is exiting the series after three seasons. Now, we’re finding out how Mehcad Brooks, who’s played NYPD Detective Jalen Shaw for the past two seasons, really feels about it.
“I went through my own sort of shock and depression about that, and it lasted for a couple of days and she and I talked a couple of times—and nobody can fill her shoes,” Brooks told Parade at the NBC Upfronts in New York on Monday.
“So what do you do? You get some new shoes and you put a wonderful actor in those shoes.”
Manheim joined the series when it was revived in 2022 as successor to Lieutenant Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), who starred on the original series from Season 4 to Season 20, and is exiting just after the iconic procedural hit 500 episodes. It’s unclear why she’s leaving, but her departure is just the latest in a long line of shake-ups in the three seasons since the show was revived. Earlier this season, Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) retired as DA and was replaced by Nick Baxter (Tony Goldwyn). At the end of last season, Detective Frank Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan) left and was replaced by Junior Detective Vincent Riley (Reid Scott), after Detective Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) was brought in to replace Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson).
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“The thing about the Wolf family is that they’re really good at casting,” Brooks told Parade. “These decisions go over our heads and our pay grades, so I don’t understand them all the time, but I do trust the Wolf Entertainment team, and I’m excited to see who comes in that place. But there’s no replacing Camryn Manheim. She’s just amazing, and you will see her on the screen very soon, I’m sure, because she’s one of the most talented actors who’ve ever done this. Period. I can’t express how much I love her.”
The Law & Order Season 23 finale airs Thursday, May 16 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
