Sam Waterson is putting his "Dun Dun" days behind him as he exits the role of DA Jack McCoy in Law & Order season 23 episode 5, an episode aptly titled "Last Dance," airing on Thursday, February 22, at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC.
Outside the realm of soaps like The Young and the Restless, not many actors in Hollywood can say they've had the privilege of playing a character for 23 seasons, amounting to more than 400 episodes. In the Dick Wolf universe of Law & Order, Waterston's tenure is only rivaled by Ice-T's on Law & Order: SVU, who has been playing Fin for 23 seasons, and only surpassed by the queen of Law & Order, Mariska Hargitay, who has been playing Olivia Benson for 25 seasons on SVU.
When People spoke with 83-year-old Waterston, he stated about his departure, "I knew I was going to leave when I came back, and it was just a matter of when. This was a beautiful way to go I have to say." He of course was referring to the fact that NBC cancelled Law & Order in 2010 and resurrected the series in 2022.
As of publication, Waterston shared there are no immediate plans for him to reprise the role of DA McCoy once the episode on February 22 airs, so for diehard fans of the character, you'll want to make sure you catch him in his closing-curtain episode.
Now as far as what viewers can expect to see in his final episode, here is a brief synopsis:
"When a woman is found murdered in Central Park, evidence points to two frequent park-goers: a street vendor and a tech billionaire. In the face of extreme political pressure, McCoy takes drastic action to make the case."
The overview sounds rather ominous, and working with this limited description we have to wonder if the "drastic action" McCoy takes sees him cross the line and get fired or causes him to quit. We'll just have to watch and see.
On a final note, for those unbearably saddened by Waterston's exit, we have some good news. Thanks to Peacock, you can watch him as DA McCoy from season 13 to season 23 anytime (currently the platform doesn't have seasons 1-12, but the seasons are available for purchase on Prime Video).
New episodes of Law & Order air live on Thursdays on NBC and become available the next day on Peacock.
