Watch: Law & Order Shocker: Reid Scott to Leave Show During Season 26
Detective Vincent Riley is turning in his badge.
Law & Order star Reid Scott—who has portrayed New York City detective Riley since season 23—will be saying goodbye to the long-running NBC crime drama during the show’s upcoming 26th season, E! News confirmed.
The Veep alum will reportedly wrap up his character’s storyline at the top of the new season before exiting for good. Filling Scott’s shoes will be newcomer James Badge Dale, whose character details have not yet been revealed.
While the cast shakeup might be a shock to some fans, Scott is forever grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Dick Wolf‘s Law & Order universe, however short-lived.
As the 48-year-old told Town & Country magazine in 2024 after joining the procedural, “I was probably the only one in my circle of actor friends who didn’t appear on the show.”
“It was not for lack of trying, believe me,” he continued, “I wanted it so badly because it was a rite of passage when you’re 20, 21. Everyone I knew was doing it, and for whatever reason, it never came my way.”
But after landing a lead role on the series—which costars Tony Goldwin, Maura Tierney, David Ajala, Hugh Dancy and Odelya Halevi—Scott was able to check the life goal off his bucket list.
“Not only am I scratching this itch from 20 plus years ago,” he told the outlet, “but also, it’s just fun to run around the streets of New York with a gun, a badge, and a bad attitude.”
Virginia Sherwood/NBC
Scott also detailed how working on Law & Order was different from any TV set he’s worked on before.
“You can’t help but give yourself over to it and become part of the machine,” he explained. “I’ve never done anything like this before; I’m still really enthralled by all that. How wow, this thing, it just takes you.”
“You show up on the day and you do the stunt, say the line; you clack the handcuffs on the bad guy; you are a super cop; and you give your testimony, and you go home,” Scott continued. “And then you rinse and repeat. So the challenge becomes: can you keep up with that grueling schedule because it’s a marathon, having to do it week after week after week after week.”
Scott certainly isn’t the first beloved cast member to shock fans with a surprise departure. Keep reading to see more TV stars who left their hit shows.
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