Current:Home > InvestSam Waterston's last case: How 'Law & Order' said goodbye to Jack McCoy -Momentum Wealth Path
Sam Waterston's last case: How 'Law & Order' said goodbye to Jack McCoy
View
Date:2025-04-24 12:44:33
Court is adjourned for Jack McCoy.
"Law & Order" said goodbye to the beloved district attorney played by Sam Waterston on Thursday, after 404 episodes over 30 years.
The episode, aptly titled "Last Dance," sees McCoy's last case involve a woman who was found dead in Central Park and a local tech billionaire with ties to the New York City mayor, Robert Payne (Bruce Altman).
McCoy picks up the case from assistant DA Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) after threats from the mayor to remove him from the office and not support McCoy's bid for re-election. The corruption in city leadership leads to McCoy's decision to resign.
"I've been thinking about this for a while," McCoy tells Price. "It's time. It just is. Look, the mayor is a vindictive son of a (expletive). He’s going to call in every chip he has to make sure my opponent wins the election. And he will succeed."
He continues: "He's going to bury everyone who wronged him, including you. If I step aside now, the governor will be able to appoint someone. Someone with integrity."
NBC announced early this month that "Scandal" actor Tony Goldwyn has been cast as the new DA and Waterston, 83, would be leaving the series, after joining in Season 5 in 1994 and reprising his role in the series' 2022 return.
Waterston appeared on "Today" Wednesday to talk about his final session.
"I knew I was gonna leave when I came back. It was just a matter of when," he told the morning show's hosts. "And this was a beautiful way to go, I have to say."
And while Waterston assured viewers he won't be returning to the NBC show a third time, he is not retiring.
"Not a chance," he said, but he won't be actively looking for new roles, leaving that up to his manager and wife, Lynn Louisa Woodruff. "I can't tell you how freeing that is."
Waterston joined a cast of newcomers in the series' return, including Dancy, Camryn Manheim, Odelya Halevi, Mehcad Brooks and Reid Scott.
"I was of two minds about whether to do it or not. I asked myself, 'Hadn't I already done this? And really did I need to be doing it again?' But I came around to the idea that it was at least worth a try," Waterston told USA TODAY at the time. "And when I stepped on the set, it was new, but it was the exact same set we had been working on 12 years ago. it made the hairs on my arm stand up."
Mariska Hargitay, 'Law & Order: SVU'stars celebrate 25th anniversary milestone in NYC
Waterston won a SAG Award and was nominated for both a Golden Globe Award and multiple Emmys for the role.
Outside of the legal drama, Waterston made guest appearances as McCoy on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and starred as Sol Bergstein in the Netflix series "Grace and Frankie" for seven seasons.
Contributing: Bryan Alexander
veryGood! (53894)
Related
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
Ranking
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
Recommendation
Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
Could your smelly farts help science?
The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?