Over the course of its 18 seasons, Law & Order has gone through more than a dozen cast changes, but it's almost never had a new character interact with the person he or she is replacing.

That will change Wednesday, when Anthony Anderson joins the NBC drama as Detective Kevin Bernard. Starting next week, Bernard will replace Ed Green (the departing Jesse L. Martin) on the NYPD homicide unit, but this week he's an Internal Affairs detective trying to get to the bottom of a case in which Green gets himself bound up.

L&O executive producer Dick Wolf says while the character overlap ended up working out, it wasn't really planned.

"It was really kismet. I don't think that there was a plan that we were going to do the overlap," Wolf says. "... So when we knew [Martin] was going to leave, then we decided, 'Well, let's do it this season, because there would be an opportunity to do something that we hadn't done before.

"[Executive producer] Rene [Balcer] came up with, I think, just a fantastic story for this episode and it's very compelling. And it seemed like a natural thing to do."

Anderson, meanwhile, is making his own cop show-to-cop show transition, coming off of FOX's New Orleans-set K-Ville. But he sees more in common between K-Ville's rule-bending Marlin Boulet and Bernard, who comes off as pretty straitlaced at first.

"You may think he's a by-the-book guy because he comes from Internal Affairs, but he knows how to get around certain things without cutting too many corners to get the job done," Anderson says. "The difference in the characters from K-Ville to Law & Order, they're both passionate about their job, and wear their hearts on their sleeves, and will do what it takes to get the job done. That's what I think connects these two, if you want to connect them at all."

More highlights from a conversation with Anderson and Wolf:

Anderson on moving between comedy and drama: "Comedy is something that just comes second nature to me, and it was what hit for me first. And I just rode that wave. And before I rode that wave any further than I was going to, I wanted to, you know, just take a step back before I was typecast as just being the funny guy. ...

"Once they see you do something and you do it well, they may think that's all that you can do. So shows like Law & Order, shows like The Shield, movies like The Departed and Hustle & Flow, those were shows and movies that I sat back and targeted, and had my team go after because those are the things that I wanted to do to show the converse of what people were used to seeing me as."

On joining a plot-driven show: "No reservations at all. You know, this show is going to go down in history and I don't know about you, but I know in my life, in my circle of friends, we all want to make and be a part of history.

"So when I got the call from Dick Wolf to come on board on this, I jumped at the opportunity just because of the history that this show has made and the history that this show will continue to make. And to join a long list of some of the most talented people who have worked and are working in our industry. So to be mentioned in the same breath as, you know, the longest-running show in television history -- which I'm very confident that this show will become -- is definitely a feather in my cap." (Gunsmoke still holds the record for TV-drama longevity, at 20 seasons.)

Wolf on doling out character details: "What you need are actors who bring their own back story with them, that you don't have to go into detail because they are fascinating enough by what they bring to the table.

"And I can't emphasize that enough. ... Nobody ever felt frustrated by lack of knowledge about who Jerry Orbach was on the show. And I don't think anybody has ever felt frustrated by lack of knowledge who Sam [Waterston] is. I mean, the way I've put it over the years is that we do not dole out information with soup ladles. We do it with eyedroppers. But if you're a regular viewer of the show, you do know an enormous amount of substantive information about the characters. But you've got to pay attention."

Wolf on choosing Anderson to replace Martin: "It was actually the SVU episode [in a 2006 episode of the Law & Order sibling, Anderson played Detective Lucius Blaine, who was temporarily assigned to partner with Chris Meloni's Elliot Stabler]. ... There was a scene that Chris had been making Anthony's character totally nuts during the whole episode. And he was over by the coffee stand and Chris came up to bug him about something else, and Anthony turned on him and went, 'What.' And it was such a pure, human moment and a non-acting moment.

"But it was just one of those wonderful things that convinced you this guy can really act in a way that you can't teach. I mean, there was comic timing involved in that. There were all sorts of -- I would hate to say technical expertise involved, but it was just one of those moments that you -- he's the guy you want on your show."

Comments

Mr. Wolf,

All I can say is "you are a very....Very smart MAN" You know talent when you see it... no wonder I have been watching L&O from the first time it appeared on TV...

Thank You and Bless you for giving us real programs that match the real world.

Acquanetta Ratliff | Apr 22, 2008 10:19:27 PM | #

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I would've rather had Ice-T's character from SVU make a transfer to L&O instead of Anthony Anderson.

Chris | Apr 23, 2008 7:37:25 AM | #

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Well looks like K-ville is officially done after this. Looks like the writers strike destroyed that show. But atleast we can still see Anthony Anderson as a cop.

John | Apr 23, 2008 10:17:10 AM | #

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I love Anthony Anderson and think he will be a great addition.

Now can we fix the horrible low angles, the swinging camera in the court room, the yellow color that the DAs office has now, and the 2 and 3 shots that actually block out the character that's talking. Is that Rene Balcer's addition to the show as well? Because the DA half of the show has looked cheap and horrible all year long.

matilda | Apr 23, 2008 10:45:18 AM | #

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I have watched Law and Order from the get-go and still watch the reruns,excellent show...

Hugh McClelland | Apr 23, 2008 11:10:36 AM | #

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But is it not bothering anyone else that all the law and orders are suposed to be in the same world and now we'll have the same guy playing two different roles? I mean as it pertains to extras who cares but that SVU episode was great. People who watch both shows will remember anderson playing a different role.

Manning | Apr 23, 2008 11:12:21 AM | #

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Anybody who watches any of the L&Os know that many of the main actors have played different roles before taking permanent positions on the show. Jerry Orbach played a lawyer, Diane Neale from SVU played a criminal before becoming a DA on the show. Not to mention the endless rotation of character actors that have been on all of the L&Os in different roles. So it won't bother me, because that's been going on for the last 18 years.

It's just the overall look (cheapness) of of L&O that bothers me this year.

matilda | Apr 23, 2008 11:27:27 AM | #

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Well I watch SVU occasionally and when I recently saw that episode where Diane Neal played a rapist I was like "Wow that actress is stunning! What else has she been in?" so I looked up the episode on IMDB only to realize she changed her hair color and style to go play Casey Novak. I didn't recognize her at all!

I think the biggest leap was Jeremy Sisto play a lawyer in a season finale ad one episode later in a premiere join as a cop. Although he did shave...

I do believe that Anderson should be playing Blaine. After all he's a cop so it would have tied things together. On Stargate SG-1 they had a recurring role by David Hewlett. When Hewlett auditioned for a regular role on Stargate Atlantis they realized that all they had to do was change the character's name in the pilot script and he'd be playing the same person he originated 4 years prior. I think if it works, make it!

Ryan | Apr 23, 2008 11:39:23 AM | #

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I have no problem seeing Anderson as another character. As someone else pointed out, it happens all the time. Just because you liked him as one character, doesn't mean he needs to come back as that character. But whatever. I look forward to seeing Anderson as L&O's newest cop. For a show that's seen so many cast changes, it's a statement toward the staff of the series to keep it going.

Jenn | Apr 29, 2008 12:27:18 PM | #

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Annie Parisse played a striper on the mother show before becoming ADA Borgia. S. Epatha Merkerson played a mother of a criminal before becoming Lt. Van Buren. Jeremy SIsto is the only person to do it in back to back episodes (though they were 8 mths apart)

Jack | May 4, 2008 5:47:53 PM | #

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Oh and Milena Govich was a REGULAR on Conviction which was part of the L & O universe (ADA Cabot from SVU played the same character) before becoming a REGULAR on the mother show

Jack | May 4, 2008 5:48:40 PM | #

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I think Matilda is having a big issue with her TV set because there is nothing remotely cheap about the look of L&O this season. I don't see any massive changes at all. Maybe it would look better for her if it was set in Pushing Daisies kind of colors. You know, give it a cartoon look. :P

Liz | May 5, 2008 12:26:56 PM | #

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