SVU Crossover, Tony Goldwyn Returns

The Season 23 finale of “Law & Order” left the election night fate of Tony Goldwyn’s District Attorney Nicholas Baxter in the dark, but showrunner Rick Eid told TheWrap ahead of the Oct. 3 premiere that the character did indeed win and will be back for the entire season.

He also promised that Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) will be a “huge part” of the second episode, about the murder of a tech CEO. “(Benson) has an existing relationship with the suspect in this case,” Eid said. “It’s really a big part of the episode. It felt organic to who Mariska’s character is, and it was an interesting element to the story that gave it another layer.”

Eid said the crossover, which also features the return of Elizabeth Marvel’s attorney Rita Calhoun, is “more organic” than some of the previous three-series premieres, including “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”

While the strike-shortened season 23 only had 13 episodes, the new season will again have the full 22 episodes, Eid said.

He also revealed that Ryan Eggold of “New Amsterdam” and “The Blacklist” has been cast as Reid Scott’s character’s brother, Vincent Riley: He will appear in connection with a case in episode 3, which is called “Big Brother.”

Eid explained that Riley, who joined the series last season, will also clash with new police lieutenant Jessica Brady, played by Maura Tierney, whose casting was announced in July.

“(The role is) traditionally more of a supervisory role, but this particular character still enjoys being a detective because she’s a little more involved than the typical lieutenant. She’s still interrogating, she’s still thinking like a detective, so she’s definitely actively involved in the cases,” Eid said.

He added: “She’s a little bit idiosyncratic. She has a bit of a gift for interrogation and picking up on details and certain things that other detectives might not notice.”

The former “ER” star takes over from Camryn Manheim, who played Lt. Kate Dixon since the show’s 2021 revival.

Eid has also been involved with the procedural since the revival, but this is the first season he can focus exclusively on “Law & Order” after stepping down as showrunner of another Wolf Entertainment show, “FBI” on CBS. “It turned out to be a lot more work to do two shows,” he laughed. “It’s nice to really dive in and be fully immersed in this show. So yeah, I’m enjoying it.”

He has been part of the Dick Wolf universe on and off for 20 years, working on series such as “Chicago PD,” “FBI: International” and “Law & Order: Trial by Jury.”

“Honestly, it sounds cliché, but (we) just make them as good as we can make them. ‘Quality’ is the word we use the most. It’s really about quality and powerful storytelling. What I mean by that is it’s about the story and not just about the glamor. We try to make it as grounded and real as possible.”

Season 24 of “Law & Order” premieres on October 3 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the Season 26 premiere of “Law & Order: SVU” at 9 p.m. ET. Both shows will stream the following day on Peacock.

“Organized Crime,” starring Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler, has moved from NBC primetime to streaming on Peacock for Season 5, but a premiere date has not yet been announced.