Law & Order: Organized Crime’s cast may be losing one star, but now another is on the way in Season 2. Dylan McDermott, who has been playing criminal mastermind Richard Wheatley on the newest Law & Order series, will be replacing Julian McMahon on FBI: Most Wanted. To help fill the void that will be left by McDermott as he’s chasing down criminals on CBS, NBC is bringing back franchise vet Jennifer Beals in a recurring role.
Jennifer Beals is set to portray the wife of Mykelti Williamson’s Preston Webb, a drug kingpin who was introduced earlier in Law & Order: Organized Crime, according to Deadline. It’s unknown how big of a part her role will be, but with Dylan McDermott presumably leaving the Law & Order series for FBI: Most Wanted, fans can likely expect to see her a decent amount.
This isn’t the actress’ first time in the Law & Order franchise. In 2007, Beals guest-starred in the original show in the Season 17 episode “Charity Case.” Since that was just a one-episode guest spot, it will be nice to see her more. There is currently no word on what episode Beals will first appear in, but hopefully it’s soon.
Besides the Law & Order franchise, Beals currently stars as Garsa Fwip in The Book of Boba Fett on Disney+ and starred in Taken, Swamp Thing as Lucilia Cable and The L Word: Generation Q, on which she also served as the co-executive producer in 2019. Beals can be seen in the upcoming Netflix film Luckiest Girl Alive as well as 2019’s After, 2017’s Before I Fall and 2006’s The Grudge 2, among many others.
The news about Jennifer Beals’ recurring role comes just under a week after the news of Julian McMahon departing FBI: Most Wanted in favor of "additional creative pursuits," which was quickly followed by the news that Organized Crime's Dylan McDermott would be switching networks and characters within the same TV universe. Only time will tell how OC will wrap up his arc as Wheatley, but McDermott is expected to debut in his new FBI agent role before the end of the current TV season on Most Wanted.
With the upcoming leading role on FBI: Most Wanted, McDermott becomes the latest lead actor to portray two different and important characters on different shows from Dick Wolf. Jeremy Sisto was also a Law & Order star on NBC who headed over to CBS for the FBI franchise, although Law & Order had already been done for years (before the revival) by the time FBI launched in 2018. As for Jennifer Beals playing a different character between two Law & Order shows after guest-starring years ago, an actress is doing the same over on SVU this season!
Hopefully more news about Jennifer Beals’ role on Law & Order: Organized Crime will be released soon, but it’s possible fans will be seeing Mrs. Webb when the series returns on Thursday, Feb. 24. In the meantime, check out CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to see what shows to catch while you’re waiting!
