(Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

When the 22nd season of Law & Order kicks off this fall on NBC, there will at least one notable absence. Anthony Anderson, who starred in three seasons of the show’s original run and the first season of the current revival, has opted not to return for the 2022-23 run.

A procedural drama series, the Law & Order TV show revival also stars Sam Waterson, Hugh Dancy, Jeffrey Donovan, Camryn Manheim, and Odelya Halevi. Set in New York City, stories follow the police who investigate crimes and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. The characters include District Attorney Jack McCoy (Waterson), Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun (Odelya), Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price (Dancy), Lieutenant Kate Dixon (Manheim), Detective Kevin Bernard (Anderson), and Detective Frank Cosgrove (Donovan). Stories are often based on real cases and episodes are split between a criminal investigation and the trial that follows.

According to a report, Anderson only signed on for one season of the Law & Order revival. The actor wanted to support executive producer Dick Wolf’s relaunch of the series and always planned to stay just one year. There was no indication in the recent finale that his character would be departing.

Meanwhile, Waterson’s future with the series is unclear as he also signed just a one-year contract. The actor did appear onstage at the recent upfront presentation of NBCUniversal so that would seem to be a good sign that he will be back.

Season 22 of Law & Order will debut at some point this fall in its regular Thursday night timeslot. A specific premiere date will be announced this summer.

What do you think? Have you been watching the revival of the Law & Order TV series on NBC? Are you disappointed that Anderson isn’t returning? Are you hoping that Waterson will be back?