Spoilers ahead for the Season 24 premiere of Law & Order, called "Catch and Kill."
Law & Order returned in the 2024 TV schedule with the murder of a Brooklyn prosecutor and Maroun struggling with the particulars of the case due to the similarities to what happened to her sister, but the biggest development that is bound to continue affecting the rest of Season 24 was the arrival of ER alum Maura Tierney as Lieutenant Jessica Brady to replace Camryn Manheim's Lieutenant Kate Dixon. Manheim isn't the first Law & Order star to leave between the seasons, but fortunately, the show didn't wait long to give a definitive answer for why she was gone and Brady in her place.
Shaw and Riley found out about Brady replacing Dixon when Brady showed up at a crime scene, and Riley couldn't get through to their former lieutenant throughout the first half of the Season 24 premiere. Considering that Law & Order didn't immediately explain Anthony Anderson's absence as Detective Kevin Bernard and was fairly vague in the explanation for Frank Cosgrove's absence after actor Jeffrey Donovan's departure, I wasn't really expecting a detailed explanation for why Dixon was MIA.
So I was pleasantly surprised when the answer came about twenty minutes into "Catch and Kill." Walking with Shaw, Riley got a text from Dixon to explain what had happened. The text read:
Patrick got a great job at a school in Miami. Mama's tagging along. Didn't want to make a big to-do about it, tears and all that. Come visit.
Shaw commented that he'd take her up on visiting in Miami, and Riley referred to how she left as the "old Irish goodbye" and said he'd "take that up with her later" and was "glad she's alright." Neither detective seemed worked up and they went right back into talking about the case. It was a pretty straightforward explanation for the change from Dixon to Brady, and even suggests that Riley still intends to keep in contact with her.
And as somebody who was already a fan of Maura Tierney from her ER days, I'm very glad that Law & Order gave a solid explanation for Dixon's absence while also setting Brady up as a very competent replacement. I can happily root for her without being conflicted on Dixon's behalf. Plus, based on what Mehcad Brooks told CinemaBlend about what changed behind the scenes with Tierney joining the cast, it would have been a bummer if she didn't fit right in with the ensemble.
So, with Dixon's exit explained early on in Season 24, the slate is pretty clean for what Law & Order does next. For a few minutes of the premiere, it seemed like perhaps Odelya Halevi might be out of the cast as ADA Sam Maroun as well when she risked her job and her license to practice law until Price showed up in the nick of time to talk her down.
Keep tuning in to NBC on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes of Law & Order at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Law & Order: SVU at 9 p.m. ET. This fall, Law & Order: Organized Crime has been replaced at 10 p.m. ET on Thursdays, with Season 2 of Found airing in that slot instead. You can also revisit older episodes of Law & Order streaming with a Peacock subscription now.