First Look at Tony Goldwyn on Law & Order Has New DA’s Staff in a Panic: “We Are Screwed”
"Are you tendering your resignation?," Goldwyn's new district attorney, Nicholas Baxter, is seen asking one anxious staffer.
The wait is nearly over. Tony Goldwyn will step in as Manhattan district attorney Nicholas Baxter on Law & Order on Thursday, March 14 — but the transition may not be the smoothest for the new boss' staff.
A new preview clip for the episode that gives a first look at Goldwyn in the role shows the prosecutors working under Baxter acting a bit unnerved. Baxter replaces District Attorney Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), who recently stepped down from the role after a complicated case.
"I’m Nicholas Baxter," the new DA is seen telling detectives Vincent Riley (Reid Scott) and Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) in the promo clip. "I was just sworn in as district attorney."
RELATED: Law & Order’s Odelya Halevi Has Been "Crying for Days" Over Sam Waterston's Departure
Words flash across the screen reading: "It’s a new era... with a new order," and "change... has consequences."
In the clip, Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun (Odelya Halevi) asks, "Do we know anything about our new boss?" Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) answers her with, “He’s ambitious." Price also says that Baxter "wants headlines."
What do we know about new Law & Order DA Nicholas Baxter?
In one seemingly tense scene shown in the preview of Goldwyn's first episode, Baxter is seen telling Price: "This office is part of a system" and "I need to know that I have a team I can trust."
Maroun says of Baxter, "He wants to do things his way.”
Price is heard saying, "We are screwed,” though it's unclear exactly what he's referring to.
RELATED: Sam Waterston's Final Law & Order Episode Reveals Why Jack McCoy Has to Leave
And just in case it wasn't clear that there will be some shaking up in the district attorney's office, Baxter is seen asking Price, "Are you tendering your resignation?” Fans won't find out exactly how all of this plays out until the episode airs in full Thursday.
What happened to district attorney Jack McCoy?
McCoy resigned from his post as Manhattan district attorney in the February 22, 2024 episode of Law & Order. The fictional DA came to the decision after the mayor of New York City meddled in a big murder case and tried to interfere with how it would be prosecuted. McCoy wouldn't let the mayor influence the case, and ultimately did things the ethical way, knowing it could hurt his job.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while," McCoy said in the episode of retiring, adding "It’s time. It just is,” and that the mayor was a “vindictive son of a b-tch.”
“He’s gonna call in every chit he has to make sure my opponent wins the election, and he’ll succeed," McCoy told Price. "Then, he’s going to bury everyone who wronged him, including you."
McCoy said that by stepping aside, the governor could appoint “someone with integrity.”
RELATED: Reid Scott’s Character on Law & Order Has a Dark Past That Was Just Revealed
Despite the drama that Baxter will bring as the new district attorney, Goldwyn has already earned the praise of his new castmates.
Halevi told NBC Insider after filming just one episode of Law & Order with Goldwyn: “I love that man. He is just so grounded and he’s a hard-working actor and he just brings so much to the table and is very challenging."
