There’s going to be one less face on Law & Order: Organized Crime this fall.
Nick Creegan, who played Richard Wheatley Jr, has now been cast as a regular for the third season of the CW’s Batwoman.
This makes it unlikely Law & Order: Organized Crime fans will see more of Richard Jr or his unique story arc when Law & Order: Organized Crime returns in September.
Who is Richard Wheatley Jr?
As Law & Order: Organized Crime began, Stabler (Christopher Meloni) was obsessed with catching Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott), the corrupt pharmaceutical CEO who Stabler believed was responsible for the murder of his wife, Kathleen.
Richard’s son, Richard Jr. or “Richie,” was shown as loyal to his father and aware of his criminal activities. While their relationship was tense, and the senior Wheatley often put his son down, Richie wanted to prove himself.
He also began a relationship with Gina Cappelletti (Charlotte Sullivan), a waitress at his father’s club. They got close before the Wheatleys discovered Gina was actually an undercover cop.
In a tense scene, Richie seemed willing to let Gina go but ended up killing her. That finally earned his father’s respect.
When both men were arrested, Richie discovered his father was responsible for the murder of Richie’s beloved grandfather, Manfredi (Chazz Palminteri). This, combined with how his dad was the only person who knew he murdered Gina, pushed Richie to have his own father killed.
When last seen, Richie was in jail for Gina’s murder while assassins sent by his father targeted his mother Angela (Tamara Taylor).
Nick Creegan joining Batwoman
Producers are mum on whether Season 2 will continue the Wheatley storyline or have Stabler’s team investigating a new crime. Either way, it seems that it won’t feature Nick Creegan, who now joins the CW Batwoman series.
The second season finale of the superhero drama had Ryan (Javicia Leslie) manage to break the brainwashing on Kate Kane (Wallis Day). Kate decided to leave Gotham and let Ryan continue as Batwoman.
According to the press release, Creegan’s character in the show is “Marquis Jet. A sexy playboy who grew up in a lavish lifestyle, Marquis, is too charming for his own good and wields his power with a ne’er do well attitude. He views life as one big joke, and that sense of recklessness has a tendency to clash horribly with his no-nonsense mother, Jada Jet.”
Veteran actress Robin Givens will play Jada. Already, fans speculate that Jada is actually Ryan’s birth mother, who was revealed to have not died giving birth to Ryan after all. This would make Marquis Ryan’s half-brother.
Another unique addition to the cast is Victoria Cartagena as Renee Montoya, who played on the Gotham TV series.
With Creegan moving to a new series, it appears likely that OC will no longer feature Richie. The obvious explanation is Richie being sent to jail for Gina’s murder. It’s also possible that his father seeks payback by trying to eliminate his own son.
However it falls out, Creegan’s new job means a major face from OC’s first season will not be back, which can affect the continuing Wheatley-Stabler storyline.
Law & Order Organized Crime Season 2 premieres Thursday, September 23 at 10/9c on NBC.