Cast departures and changes within the 'Law & Order' franchise are are a dime a dozen these days. So much so that most fans tend not to notice when they occur. The exception is when a long-running cast member decides to step down. Fans take notice then because, frankly, there aren't too many more long-running cast members left in the franchise (except the amazingly stable group at 'Special Victims Unit.'

This time the honor goes to S. Epatha Merkerson, who plays Lieutenant Van Buren in the original 'Law & Order'. After 16 years, the actress has decided to leave the series at the end of this season.

Linus Roache, who starred in NBC's Kidnapped, has joined Law and Order as an assistant district attorney. His character will replace Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), who moves to serve as New York district attorney. McCoy (Waterston) replaces D.A. Arthur Branch, who was played by former real-life senator Fred Thompson. Thompson left the series to explore a possible presidential bid.

Roache also appeared in Canterbury's Law, a midseason pilot for FOX starring Juliana Margulies as a lawyer who doesn't mind bending the rules. It's unknown at this time whether or not Roache will appear in both series.

Roache's other credits include the movies Batman Begins and the TV movie RFK, in which he played Robert F. Kennedy.

Sam Waterston wants a promotion. For the last 13 years Waterston has played Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy on the long-running (some say too long) NBC drama Law & Order. Now that co-star, and former U.S. Senator, Fred Thompson (who played District Attorney Arthur Branch) is leaving the show to run for president of the United States his job position is now open. And, it seems that Waterston's McCoy wants to move into the slot.

According to an anonymous source close to the show, Waterston is negotiating to have his character step into the D.A. role when Law & Order returns at the beginning of 2008. How McCoy would slip into the position, as well as his replacement, have yet to be determined. When asked to confirm this news L&O creator Dick Wolf as well as Waterston declined to comment.

The Mayor of Television (hey, they had an election for Mayor of Television? Why didn't anyone tell us??) has invented the Law and Order Fantasy League Game. Basically, you guess which "ripped from the headlines" story one of the Law and Order shows (the original, Criminal Intent, and Special Victims Unit) is going to ripoff write an homage to. Will it be Michael Richards? The O.J. Simpson book controversy?

But you can't just guess which show is going to do which plot and be done with it. You have to tweak it a little bit, so it's "original" (cough cough). So, maybe a former sitcom actor says some nasty racial remarks, only this time it's not at a comedy club, it's at a private party. Or maybe a former pro baseball star (not a football star! accused of killing his parents (not his ex-wife and her friend!) decides to create a web site (not publish a book!) showing pics of the murder scene and how he might have done it.

The Mayor's idea for a Michael Richards-inspired story is more elaborate than mine, and would fit the L&O world nicely.

[via TV Tattle]

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