Ryan Eggold is returning to NBC! The New Amsterdam star has been cast in the upcoming season of Law & Order—which will also feature a crossover early this fall.
Mariska Hargitay is bringing Captain Olivia Benson over from Law & Order: SVU in the second episode. “A guy creates this app that is essentially a person or more specifically the perfect boyfriend. It turns out there are lots of people who didn’t like this guy for creating this app,” showrunner Rick Eid previews. The episode dives into AI and virtual dating, “and will AI ever replace real love? People get into those issues. It turns into a pretty emotional and powerful episode.”
He continues, “The reason this guy is killed turns out to be a very complicated and topical issue that brings Captain Benson into the fold. She becomes a pretty integral part of the episode. She has a pre-existing relationship with the defendant, and she gets involved in the case and interacts with all of our regulars. It gets pretty intense, and I think it’s a really powerful episode.”
Following that is “Big Brother,” which will introduce Eggold as Detective Vincent Riley’s (Reid Scott) brother, Matt. “In the course of our murder investigation, we cross paths with Riley’s brother, who turns out to know a little something about the case and some of the people we believe are involved,” Eid says. Getting help from him is easier said than done.
“He’s a pretty complicated guy,” the showrunner adds.”He has one foot in the criminal world, and you realize Riley’s the one that went one way and his brother went another way, and they’re still close, but this episode kind of highlights the complexities of their relationship. Riley’s trying to help his brother out of a jam, but you know the expression: ‘No good deed…’”
The episode “really explores and digs into the relationship between Riley and his brother in the course of this murder investigation and murder trial,” Eid teases.
What are you hoping to see when Hargitay crosses over as well as with the Riley brothers? Let us know in the comments section, below.
Law & Order, Season 24 Premiere, Thursday, October 3, 8/7c, NBC
—Reporting by Ileane Rudolph