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Law & Order made the decision to write out a crucial character by killing them off following an offscreen cast exit.
During the Thursday, October 15, episode of the NBC series, Detective Vincent Riley (Reid Scott) was killed in the line of duty. The rest of the episode showed the team trying to track down his killer to give Vincent the closure he deserved.
The creative choice came as a surprise after news broke in July that Detective Theo Walker (David Ajala) would be getting a new partner to replace Scott’s character. James Badge Dale is coming into the show this season as a new senior detective.
Deadline reported at the time that the departure was Scott’s choice, and the “amicable” decision will likely leave the door open for Riley to return in the future. More recently, executive producer Rick Eid teased how Scott’s character would bid farewell.
“I think it’ll be really emotional and powerful,” Eid told TV Insider in September about the “very personal” episode. “And the approach was we wanted to give him a memorable exit.”
He continued: “He’s a great character. And honestly, I’d say interestingly enough, the genesis for the idea may have come from Reid himself.”
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 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.
Season 27 also marked the official return of Kelli Giddish‘s Rollins. Giddish, 46, 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.
Law and Order airs on NBC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Peacock.
