Jeffrey Donovan, star of Law & Order: SVU, discusses his character’s past and how it influences his interactions with the other characters. Donovan joined the cast of the long-running sitcom as it returned following a twelve-year sabbatical, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterson, who had previously been on the show. Burn Notice, LBJ, and the second season of Fargo have all included Donovan.
In the police procedural and legal drama, Law & Order, cops and lawyers in New York City solve numerous crimes. The series ran for 20 seasons and over 450 episodes, making it the second-longest-running live-action scripted American primetime series, trailing only its spin-off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The show has produced a significant media empire, including spin-offs, overseas adaptations, and video games, in addition to sharing a universe with the Chicago and FBI television shows.
Donovan discusses his character’s past and how it affects his part in the series in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. He discusses how his character’s pairing with Anderson causes friction because he describes his new detective as “not woke,” which might lead to problems given that he is white and Anderson is black, as discussed in the first episode of season 21. He also notes that his character comes from a family of cops and that he aspires to carry on his family’s tradition. Read the following quote from him:
That was wonderful news to me because I enjoy having a dynamic relationship with my partner and the story…so that we can work on having the uncomfortable topic of, “I’m a white detective, you’re a Black detective, and we’re going to solve these murders.”
Unlike Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which focuses on the personal lives of the protagonists, Law & Order is more focused on the cases that the cops tackle on week to week. Donovan mentions this as a manner of progressively disclosing his character’s past, as portions of it will be revealed as the series progresses. He also mentions that the backstory should be given across several years, stating a desire to stick with the series for a long time.
With its basic storytelling beats and ability to utilise plotlines to comment on current events, Law & Order has been a staple of primetime television for decades. Though it may not be the powerhouse it once was, Law & Order’s comeback indicates that the procedural format is still in demand. Regardless of how Donvan’s character shapes plot beats in the future, he’s now a TV staple, which is beneficial for both him and the audience.
