Warning: spoilers are ahead for Episode 10 of Law & Order Season 24, called "Greater Good" and available streaming with a Peacock subscription now.
Season 24 may be Maura Tierney's first as part of the Law & Order cast, but her regular appearances in the 2025 TV schedule mark a return to NBC's primetime lineup for the actress. She appeared in nearly 200 episodes of ER as Abby Lockhart over ten years, and that stint was a large part of why I was excited when she was cast to replace Camryn Manheim. The latest episode was a much-hyped ER reunion, with Mekhi Phifer joining Tierney in front of the camera and Eriq La Salle directing! Alas, the episode didn't quite live up to that hype for me, but I love the behind-the-scenes photos of the former co-stars back together again.
Admittedly, it's my own fault that I built high expectations for the ER reunion in "Greater Good." The promo for the episode made the most of the "-er" in each of the former medical drama stars' names and provided a glimpse of a scene between Tierney and Phifer, which made me think that there would be a fair few scenes of their characters together. Instead, Tierney's Lt. Jessica Brady left most of the handling of Phifer's killer Lyman Ross to Shaw and Riley, then Price and Maroun once the "law" half of Law & Order took over the case of the week.
Was it still fun to see the two ER vets in the same episode, knowing that Eriq La Salle was also behind the camera? Of course, and it actually made me want to sign into a Hulu subscription and revisit their days as Abby Lockhart (Tierney), Greg Pratt (Phifer), and Peter Benton (La Salle). Plus, without their connection going back more than a decade, we wouldn't have gotten some pics of them sporting big smiles on the set of Law & Order. Take a look at the first:
Both Maura Tierney and Mekhi Phifer look a lot happier BTS than they did as their characters in "Greater Good" on January 23! Of course, Phifer's character didn't really have anything to smile about, so it's nice to see that he was having a good time on set.
As for Eriq La Salle, he's been a big part of the nine-show Dick Wolf TV universe behind the scenes for years, including earlier episodes of Law & Order, spinoffs SVU and Organized Crime, CBS' FBI, and One Chicago elsewhere on NBC. And if you, like me, were flashing back to ER, the Instagram account made the most of it with its photo caption, as well as some throwbacks to their days in scrubs:
In a fun twist that Law & Order didn't give away in the promo, "Greater Good" also brought back Michael Beach as defense attorney Brian Harris. Not only has Beach already worked under La Salle as a director for multiple earlier eps of Law & Order and a couple installments of Chicago P.D., but he recurred on ER for three seasons from 1995-1997 as Al Boulet, and Peter Benton had no reason to be a fan of Al back in the day. Take a look at the former co-stars looking pretty happy:
In fact, when Eriq La Salle posted BTS pics on his own Instagram page, he included one that not only featured Mekhi Phifer and Michael Beach as former ER stars, but also Mehcad Brooks as a current Law & Order star, among others. Take a look at the second of the photos in the series he posted below:
Given the fate of Mekhi Phifer's character in "Greater Good" despite one cop's attempts to spare him incarceration since he'd killed a man who pretty much everybody agreed was awful, I think it's a safe bet that he won't be returning to reunite with Maura Tierney again. I wouldn't rule out Eriq La Salle directing again, though, as he's been prolific across the network TV Dick Wolf shows, as well as acting, producing, and directing On Call, Prime Video's streaming Wolf show.
As for Law & Order, keep tuning in to NBC on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes, whether or not Maura Tierney is the only ER star who turns up. You can also revisit earlier episodes on Peacock now, as well as Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime.
