Where You’ve Seen Law & Order’s Reid Scott Before: Who Is Jeffrey Donovan’s Replacement?
With Reid Scott, Law & Order turns to a proven performer to replace Jeffrey Donovan's Frank Cosgrove.
Casting turnover is the name of the game when it comes to the Law & Order franchise. Through 23 seasons of the flagship series (and not even to mention the many spinoffs), Law & Order has cycled through dozens of casting combinations in filling out both the “law” and “order” halves of its ensemble.
When Law & Order returned for season 21 in 2022 after a lengthy hiatus, it looked like it had a solid detective duo in place with Anthony Anderson’s Kevin Bernard and Jeffrey Donovan’s Frank Cosgrove. Now, just two years later both actors are gone. Anderson departed after season 21 and Donovan after season 22.
Law & Order season 23 pairs Mehcad Brooks’ Jalen Shaw (who replaced Anderson) with newbie Vincent Riley, played by recognizable face Reid Scott. If you’re wondering who Reid Scott is and what makes him a good fit for this crime drama, don’t worry – we’ve got the answers. But first, let’s quickly examine something we don’t have the “official” answer for.
Why Did Jeffrey Donovan Leave Law & Order?
As previously stated, cast members leaving is really no big deal for Law & Order. That’s bound to happen for a franchise that has run for decades. Still, even with that in mind, Donovan’s stint as Frank Cosgrove was unusually short.
The only word on Donovan’s departure comes from show insiders via TVLine who point to “creative reasons” for Donovan leaving the show. The season 23 premiere itself also doesn’t put much energy into explaining away Cosgrove’s sudden absence. Riley casually asks Shaw what happened to his old partner and Shaw responds “Great cop, just got jammed up. Being too honest about things people aren’t too honest about these days.”
Well there you have it. He just got “jammed up.” Problem solved. Reading between the lines a bit, it does seem as though this was the unusual instance where “creative reasons” is being used literally and not as cover for any kind of intense behind the scenes drama. As the Law & Order geniuses at Vulture, Roxana Hadadi and Kathryn VanArendonk, have previously pointed out, the character of Cosgrove was fairly underwritten.
Perhaps this sort-of reboot wanted a fresh start with a brand new detective pairing.
Where Have You Seen Reid Scott Before?
The good news for Law & Order fans is that it’s hard to imagine a better choice to spice things up than veteran character actor Reid Scott. This New York state native has been working (very) consistently since 2002 and has popped up in all sorts of movies and TV shows that you’re likely to be familiar with.
For most people, Scott is probably best known for the role of cynical White House staffer Dan Egan in Veep. The entire cast of Veep is basically an All-Star team with some of the funniest actors in the world reading some of the funniest dialogue in the world from some of the funniest writers in the world. But even in that heightened environment, Scott’s Egan stood out.
Scott is also known to TV fans for playing sleazy talk show host Gordon Ford on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Other major TV projects that Scott has popped up in include: Great News, Why Women Kill, Black-ish, and The Afterparty. He’s also voiced two DC Comics characters as Jonathan Kent in My Adventures with Superman and Commissioner Gordon in Merry Little Batman.
On the movie side of things, Marvel fans might recognize him as Dr. Dan Lewis in Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
With that diverse of an acting background, investigating the creeps and criminals of Dick Wolf’s New York should be a breeze!
Law & Order season 23 airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
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TV Editor at Den of Geek and Television Critics Association member. Based in Cleveland, Ohio. Very upset about various sporting events.