The Law & Order franchise in truly one of a kind, starting with Dick Wolf's creation of the original series in 1990 and advancing to span six spinoffs, two of which are still releasing new episodes alongside the original in the 2025 TV schedule. After nearly 40 years and literally thousands of episodes mostly set in New York City, is it any surprise that actors have played multiple characters within the franchise or even reprised roles many years later? Well, former Law & Order: Criminal Intent actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio joined Organized Crime this year, and she opened up about what makes actors want to come back to Dick Wolf's world.
In fact, Mastrantonio isn't even the only Organized Crime cast member to leave and then return to the franchise. Christopher Meloni famously left the SVU corner of the Law & Order world as Elliot Stabler before coming back for OC nearly a decade later, while Dean Norris, Rick Gonzalez, and Michael Trotter returned as new characters. For her part, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio recurred in Season 9 of Criminal Intent as Captain Zoe Callus in 2010 before joining OC Season 5 as Isabella Spezzano. (You can find Season 5 streaming with a Peacock subscription now.)
Isabella's time on Organized Crime was unfortunately short, but she certainly made an impact over the course of her few episodes. When I spoke with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio about Isabella's big final twist, she weighed in on coming back to the Law & Order franchise:
Well, this one was just a three-episode job, so the commitment was far more appealing... [than] when I did the other, which was great. Dick Wolf runs – can I just say, he runs a really good franchise? Let's not mince words. He pays well. He knows these things are difficult, and so he makes it worth your while. It makes it worthwhile to show up to work, and not that you do a better or worse job, by the way. You do your work, no matter what you're paid, but you think, 'Oh really? Okay, well then I'll go.'
Apparently, Dick Wolf – who is also an executive producer on NBC's One Chicago shows, CBS' FBI shows and the upcoming CIA – knows how to run a tight ship when it comes to the Law & Order franchise to make it worth actors' while to come back. That includes paying well! Mastrantonio went on:
When I did the first one, Criminal Intent, I knew it was only [14] episodes, so it wasn't a full 23. I was commuting from London. I lived in London at the time. That's where I raised my children... so it was a commute. I was commuting to New York, and they were just so helpful. They boxed my days, so I would do the end of Episode 3 and start the beginning of Episode 4. I wasn't on a plane every week, which was really generous.
While many people have commutes from home to work, I'd say it's a safe bet that London to New York is pretty extreme for just about anybody! The actress had nothing bad to say about how the Criminal Intent production team and Wolf Entertainment handled her travel, and even found another perk for playing an NYPD captain instead of a beat cop or detective. She said:
That character was always in the office, which was great. As we gals get older and somehow less sex appealing, they stick us in an office where we are the matriarch. [laughs] And that's good for an actress, because then you're on set. You don't have to be up in the morning and to these far away locations. It's good.
Actors who play detectives are generally the ones in the Law & Order world who are running through the streets of NYC in rain, shine, or snow, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio clearly enjoyed getting her office scenes on Criminal Intent.
Oddly enough, she may have had more action-packed sequences in three episodes of Organized Crime than all her episodes of CI Season 9! The actress elaborated on how the Wolf team has made the experience comfortable:
Once you've done it, you realize there are so many people that are going to pull you through this. It's not nerve-wracking. You just have to get on a plane, and they're paying for the plane, and they're arranging the flights. So basically you have to brush your teeth and get on the plane. Then these very talented people show up with clothing that you never dreamed you'd be wearing, and hairstyles that you never thought of. They do their creative thing, so it's not real difficult.
The television industry seems to somewhat in a state of flux, accounting for Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's decision to return to the Law & Order franchise while some Wolf Entertainment shows have made cuts recently. SVU is losing series regulars Octavio Pisano and Juliana Martinez ahead of Season 27 in the fall, although the series is also bringing former series regular Kelli Giddish back.
Over in the One Chicago corner of Dick Wolf's TV universe, Chicago Fire series regulars Jake Lockett and Daniel Kyri are out ahead of Season 14. It was never explicitly confirmed one way or the other if the SVU and Fire cuts were for budget reasons, although one CBS exec confirmed that economics were behind FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International's cancellations.
At the time of writing, the majority of the Wolf Entertainment shows that were not cancelled are currently on summer hiatus. That said, you can keep catching new episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime on Thursdays, streaming exclusively on Peacock.
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