Law & Order is bidding farewell to one of its key characters later this month. Sam Waterston, a longtime star of the Dick Wolf crime drama, is leaving the show after a nearly 30-year and 400+ episode run as District Attorney Jack McCoy. Per NBC, Waterston‘s final episode will air on Thursday, February 22.

Waterston first began his run on Law & Order in 1994, joining as a series regular in the Season 5 premiere. Since then, he quickly cemented himself as a memorable character, remaining an integral part of the series for decades. Throughout his run as DA McCoy, Waterston also guest starred in a handful of episodes across four seasons for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Waterston garnered multiple award nominations for his portrayal of Jack, including the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

As Waterston leaves Law & Order, Tony Goldwyn will join as the new District Attorney. Prior to joining the series, Goldwyn starred in a variety of television series and movies. Most recently, he was in Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer, with other film credits for projects like Murder Mystery 2, King Richard, Divergent, and more. For television, Goldwyn is primarily known for starring as President Fitzgerald Grant in the Kerry Washington-led drama Scandal. Additionally, he has been in shows such as The Hot Zone, Chambers, and even a few episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He has also been on podcasts Crowded Hours and Erased: The Murder of Elma Sands.

Who Else Currently Works on ‘Law & Order’?

Law & Order was created by Dick Wolf, who has since created and worked on a plethora of spin-offs in the franchise including the previously mentioned SVU and Criminal Intent, as well as Law & Order: Organized Crime, Law & Order: LA, and Law & Order: Trial by Jury among others. Wolf serves as executive producer on Law & Order alongside Rick Eid, Pamela Wechsler, Alex Hall, Arthur Forney, and Peter Jankowski. Along with Waterston, the series currently stars NBC‘s Hannibal alum Hugh Dancy as Executive ADA Nolan Price, Camryn Manheim (The Practice) as Lieutenant Kate Dixon, Odelya Halevi (Black Adam) as ADA Samantha Maroun, Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl) as Detective Jalen Shaw, and Reid Scott (Veep) as Detective Vincent Riley.

Law & Order airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Seasons 13-20 are available to stream on Peacock, with current episodes available to watch on the streamer after airing.

via Collider