Ajala joins the procedural two months after Mechad Brooks, who played Detective Jalen Shaw, announced his exit.
Law & Order is turning to the stars for its newest cast member.
The NBC drama has tapped Star Trek: Discovery alum David Ajala to join the series as an NYPD detective who will partner with Reid Scott’s Det. Vincent Riley. Ajala will come aboard as a series regular, though his debut won’t arrive until later in Season 25.
His casting follows the recent exit of Mehcad Brooks, who portrayed Det. Jalen Shaw for three seasons. To bridge the gap between Brooks’ departure and Ajala’s arrival, the show is taking an unusual approach for the franchise: Riley will be working solo for a stretch of episodes.
Traditionally, Law & Order pairs two lead detectives to tackle homicide cases, but until David Ajala’s character arrives, Det. Riley will be running the investigations solo. Still, he won’t be without support.
The rest of the ensemble Tony Goldwyn, Hugh Dancy, Odelya Halevi, and Maura Tierney are all confirmed to return for the upcoming season.
What remains unclear is how the show will explain the sudden shift in the squad’s lineup, since Season 24 concluded without any hint that Det. Shaw was on his way out.
David Ajala is widely recognized for his three-season run as Kwejian Cleveland Booker on Star Trek: Discovery. Before that, he played the formidable vigilante Manchester Black on The CW’s Supergirl.
His other credits include The Jetty, Nightflyers, and Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue. Up next, Ajala will appear in Netflix’s The Woman in Cabin 10.
In anticipation of its milestone season, Law & Order received a special tribute at the 77th Emmy Awards earlier this month, where several stars from the franchise celebrated the show onstage.
Tony Goldwyn, Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice-T, and S. Epatha Merkerson came together to represent three branches of the long-running series’ expansive family tree.
Originally premiering on NBC in 1990, Law & Order ran for 20 seasons before concluding in 2010. The series was revived in 2022 for its 21st season and has since spawned multiple spinoffs, including the ongoing Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Law & Order Season 25 premieres on NBC on Wednesday, September 25, at 8 p.m. ET, with episodes available to stream on Peacock the following day.