Law & Order will delve into some personal stuff in Season 22.
After kicking off the year as part of the big crossover with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime, the new season will delve into cases ripped from the headlines.
That includes one that tackles a monumental Supreme Court decision and how it affects law in New York City.
However, another episode will focus on Price’s past when a woman from his life reenters as part of a challenging case involving a mass shooting.
Also, a focus will be on Kate Dixon using a special skill to solve a crime that’s tied to her family life.
With a focus on the personal lives of the characters alongside the usual thrilling castes, Season 22 is going to be a big one for the show.
Law & Order tackling high-profile cases in Season 22
If there’s one thing Law & Order fans know, it’s that real life always provides fodder for the show’s drama.
Season 22 will begin as the final part of the crossover with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime, that airs on September 22.
This will have Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan) as part of the team trying to stop a deadly terror attack in New York City.
The episode also introduces Detective Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks), who becomes Cosgrove’s new partner. It will be explained that Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson) transferred to a different part of the NYPD.
Speaking to TV Line, showrunner Rick Eid shared that several upcoming cases will tackle serious events. That includes one based on the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade, thus ending national federal abortion rights.
The episode will involve a young woman heading to New York seeking an abortion as Ohio has now banned it. Eid describes it as an “exciting case.”
However, more notable is that Season 22 will delve more into the personal lives of the cops and prosecutors amid the usual drama.
What’s coming for Price in Season 22?
Season 21 touched on the past of Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy), from how he was a former defense attorney to having lost a brother to drug addiction.
Eid revealed to Give Me My Remote that an upcoming episode will have Price clashing with a lawyer played by Claire Coffee on a unique case.
“She’s got an interesting role in an episode that involves a pretty horrible crime: a mass shooting event with a racial component; she represents the killer. And we learn that she and Price have some history together—they went to law school together. In this particular case, for a variety of reasons, they’re seeking the death penalty.
Price is not a proponent of the death penalty, but based on the way this case lays out, he doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter but to pursue that. And the Claire Coffee character is outraged that the Nolan Price she knew—and possibly had a romantic relationship with—would actually be doing such a thing.”
While the character is only meant to appear in this episode, Eid is hopeful she may become a recurring presence.
“We’re definitely considering that as a possibility,” he says. “Everything’s on the table.”
Eid added that Season 22 will show that Kate Dixon (Camryn Manheim) has a deaf son. This allows Manheim to show her real-life sign language skills in a case.
“She’s been asking to incorporate that into the show, so we’re excited to do that. We may see the son [later]—you never know.”
While Law & Order rarely looks into the personal lives of the cops, Eid previews that this year will focus on how they bring their personal experiences to these cases.
“We hope the first batch of episodes sheds some light on who these people are. The challenges [and] the complexities of their job, the workload they have, and how they see the world and how they try to get justice.”
With a new focus on the personal lives of the characters alongside some notable cases inspired by real life, Season 22 of Law & Order is ready to restore the iconic franchise back to its past greatness.
Law & Order Season 22 premieres Thursday September 22 at 10/9c on NBC.