7 things we want to see in Law and Order season 24 (and 3 things we don't)

Law and Order has been doing well for NBC since its return in 2022 after being canceled in 2010. The iconic series has continued its mix of storylines “ripped from the headlines” and its good guest stars. Season 24 looks to be another cast shakeup as Camryn Manheim has left, and Maura Tierney joins as new Lieutenant Jessica Grady. 

So, as we await the premiere of the long-running hit, here’s a quick look at a few things we do and don’t want to see that hopefully make season 24 a return to the glory days of the franchise. 

What we want to see on Law and Order season 24

A good sendoff for Dixon

It’s annoying when Law and Order just brushes off a character exiting with a single line. Cosgrove never got a sendoff, just talk on how he got “jammed up” and it wasn't even clear if he was fired, resigned or reassigned. Hopefully, the show doesn’t do that to Kate Dixon, as Camryn Manheim did make the character a notable boss with some good insight into her past. Just brushing her off as no longer there in a single line is wrong; at least, give a real explanation. It’d be great if Dixon got a promotion to move on but she deserves more than just the one-line talk or even nothing at all on her departure. 

Have Grady be a compelling addition

Adding Maura Tierney as the new lieutenant is a good move, as the veteran actress has the chops for the role. It looks like Jessica Grady is going to be more hands-on than past bosses. She's a former homicide cop who won’t be sticking to the office but will be at crime scenes with the cops. That’s an intriguing turn, and the trailers show her telling them, “I don’t need you to like me but respect me.” Having a boss who does more than just sit in the office and hear the cops give her information is a departure for the show, but it may make Tierney’s character a bigger addition to the season.

Back to shorter cold openings

The classic L&O opening is always a two-minute affair where someone finds the dead body, and it cuts to the cops coming on the scene. It’s a great bit, ending with one cop making a quip and then we're into the episode. But since the series returned in 2022, there’s been a tendency for the cold openings to go over five minutes, showing us the victim before the murder. While that may be nice for the actor, it’s not needed and throws off the show’s pace. We get enough info on the victim without seeing them that much before their deaths. Cutting back to the shorter cold opens can be a benefit for the series.

Sharpen the cop partnership

We didn’t get to see as much of the Shaw/Riley partnership in the shortened season 23. We can get more here as the pair are finally gelling as partners and while we don’t know too much yet on Riley’s past, we can get more insight. They seem to have better chemistry than Shaw and Cosgrove did, and both actors do well together. A full, longer season can offer more opportunities for the cops to connect, especially with a new boss, and hopefully, this partnership will shine more. 

Be more nuanced in the cases

Law and Order has sadly become a bit more sensationalized since its return. Granted, the original show had some wild moments and plots but this revival goes a bit overboard. We’ve had Price on the scene of a mass shooting, an abortion doctor shot on the courthouse steps and more. That’s without cases that expand into terrorism, fighting the military and other turns. The series needs to cut back on the wilder cases and make them simpler and more relatable for fans. The best L&O episodes were about cases that could be truly real-life, not huge political or thriller affairs, so getting “back to basics” in the case stakes can be a good move. 

Have Baxter be more relatable 

Tony Goldwyn was a huge addition to the cast and had the inevitable task of taking over from Sam Waterston’s Jack McCoy. He’s been a bit rough so far, seemingly more inclined to look at his political career than the merits of the case. He got a spotlight in the season finale when his daughter was caught up in a case that could impact his career. Season 24 should make Baxter more relatable, not as focused on the politics, showing a warmer side as a boss. Keeping him seemingly more interested in re-election than finding justice is a bad way to win fans over to the new boss. 

More of Yee

A bright presence on the show is Connie Shi as Detective Violet Yee. We need more of the character than just popping her head into the office for a scene to relate data she’s found off the computer. Having her be the center of a case can be fun, or at least she and Brady form a bond as women on the job. Having her be a full cast member might be a bit much, yet Yee could stand to have more of a spotlight on her. 

What we don't want to see

Too much into the characters' personal lives

It sounds like season 24 is going to delve more into the cops off the job. That includes Ryan Eggold as Riley’s brother and likely some discussion of Brady’s past. The thing is, fans don’t watch Law and Order to get into the cop’s personal lives. Sure, a few character insights are good in background and such but the focus should be on the cases themselves, not the private lives of the cops or prosecutors. Delving into “off the job” moments is a distraction to what’s always made L&O work. 

More of Maroun’s sad past

Maroun has been a hit-or-miss character as she’s sometimes hard to take seriously as a prosecutor, even if she shows backbone standing up to Price and Baxter. However, the arc of her being haunted by her sister’s murder has dragged on too long. It sounds like an upcoming episode will once more have Maroun face the trauma of it and what’s meant to be a good character arc has instead become an anchor around her. The best move will be finally finding her sister’s killer to get justice done and move on, as keeping Maroun troubled by it is too large a distraction holding the character back. 

Too many crossovers

This may seem odd, yet Law and Order works best when it doesn’t have big crossovers with its spinoffs. An early season 24 episode will have Mariska Hargitay coming in as Benson for a case that also brings back lawyer Rita Calhoun (Elizabeth Marvel) for an arc. That sounds okay yet somehow, L&O is the weakest part of crossovers between the shows. The series is better at focusing on its own cases without the need for extra help or complicating things with more crossovers. While connections to the spinoffs are good, we don’t need that many crossovers. 

Law and Order season 24 premieres Thursday, Oct. 3 at 8/7c on NBC.