Over the three decades the Law & Order franchise has been around, it's built up quite the roster of guest stars. While lots of said guest stars appeared on the show before they were famous, plenty of others were very established performers when they popped up in this world. It’s honestly amazing to think about how many people have appeared on these shows, as Keke Palmer helped point out at the 2025 SAG Awards. Now, Law & Order alum S. Epatha Merkerson has shared her favorite guest star, and I absolutely love her pick.
Before she was Sharon Goodwin on Chicago Med, Merkerson starred in a different Dick Wolf drama on NBC. She was a series regular on Seasons 4-20 of Law & Order as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren. Starring in that many seasons, she definitely saw her fair share of guest stars, both big and small. While one would think that choosing a favorite from over 15 seasons would be hard, for Merkerson, her top guest star was a no-brainer. She told People:
Jerry Stiller was probably one of our favorites. I think he was on with me and Ben [Bratt] and Jerry [Orbach], but he was just such a nice guy. He was funny. He had great stories.
Jerry Stiller appeared in not one but two episodes of Law & Order in the ‘90s. The late King of Queens star was a guest during Season 2 in 1993 and Season 7 in 1996. Even though his last appearance was 30 years ago, it seems to still have an impact on Merkerson. Not just because he’s Jerry Stiller, but it sounds like he was as sweet as can be, and I can only imagine the kinds of stories he told.
Even though Merkerson called out Stiller pretty quickly as her favorite, she had trouble picking other memorable guest stars. Not because there weren’t any, but because there were too many. For a show like Law & Order, there have been hundreds of guest stars, and again, it’s pretty incredible to think about just how many actors have been on it, as the actress pointed out:
Some of them were young folks who literally I’ve seen grow up. They started out as child actors on our show. There were many because, at the time the original show was working, it was pretty much the only thing in town. You’d go to the theater, and you’d look in a Playbill, and everybody had a Law & Order credit. And if they didn’t, you’d say, ‘Well, where the hell have they been?’
Between Law & Order and its many spinoffs, it almost feels like an acting rite of passage to be a guest star. And as long as the Law & Order franchise continues, there will be plenty more guest stars, including many young actors hoping to make it big. As of now, Law & Order doesn’t have any end in sight, nor does Law & Order: SVU, so it’s possible there will still be many, many more seasons and guest stars.
Meanwhile, fans can watch Stiller’s episodes with a Hulu subscription. Select seasons of Law & Order are available on Hulu and with a Peacock subscription. There will also be plenty more guest stars to look forward to with the premiere of Season 26 on Thursday, October 8 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, following the Season 28 premiere of Law & Order: SVU.
