Law & Order lost a main cast member after a surprise exit — but their replacement has already been found ahead of season 26.
Detective Theo Walker (David Ajala) will be getting a new partner during season 26 after Detective Vincent Riley (Reid Scott) is written off. According to Deadline, James Badge Dale is going to be replacing Scott’s character as a new senior detective.
The outlet reported that Scott, 48, will be in “a few episodes” before his exit is official. With the departure being Scott’s choice, the “amicable” decision will likely leave the door open for Riley to return in the future instead of killing the character off.
The Law & Order franchise is no stranger to cast members coming and going. NBC’s spinoff Law & Order: SVU recently faced a few shakeups when news broke in May 2025 that Octavio Pisano and Juliana Aidén Martinez were leaving the series before season 27. Pisano, 40, originally joined Law & Order: SVU in season 23, while Martinez, 36, came on board during season 26.
No further explanation was given for Pisano and Martinez’s departures. Pisano eventually returned for some episodes, but Martinez the actress moved over to Dick Wolf’s FBI.
Law & Order: SVU, which premiered in 1999, follows detectives from the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit as they investigate and prosecute sexually based crimes. The legal drama stars Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Peter Scanavino and Kevin Kane.
Shocking exits aside, season 27 also marked the official return of Kelli Giddish‘s Rollins. Giddish, 45, previously departed Law & Order: SVU in the middle of season 24 in 2022 after more than a decade on the show. She was a guest star on various episodes throughout seasons 25 and 26 before being confirmed as a series regular for the 27th season.
Earlier this month, Ice-T, 68, also confirmed he would be coming back in a larger capacity after being noticeably absent from more episodes than usual during season 27.
“Last year, what happened was, they brought Kelli Giddish back. So they told me, ‘Basically, we’re going to bring Kelli Giddish back. We’re going to bring your scenes down a little bit,’” he said on a recent TMZ podcast episode.
The actor reassured fans that Fin will play a larger role on screen when the series returns for season 28.
“So this next season, I’m going to be in every episode,” Ice-T revealed. “But it was one of those things where the boss comes to you, and you don’t go, ‘Well, I’ve been on here 27 seasons.’”
Ice-T chose to take the news of his decreased screen time in stride, adding, “You go and do it. I got it, it’s all good. So it wasn’t because of Kelli. It was just the way they moved. And I was more concerned about getting to season 28. I didn’t care about that. I was just like, ‘Let’s just keep going. I want to go to season 30.’”
