Law & Order: Organized Crime has a number of compelling storylines happening at any given moment, and one of the most intriguing threads surrounds Nona Parker Johnson’s character Carmen ‘Nova’ Riley. Nova has moved up the ranks of the Marcy Corporation and has now found herself in a powerful place, which is great for Sergeant Ayanna Bell because of the access Nova gets as an informant, but it also presents even more danger for Nova if someone at Marcy finds out. ComicBook.com had the chance to talk to Johnson all about moving from recurring character to part of the main cast, what is in store for Nova as the season plays out, and who she would love to team up with on SVU!
Johnson actually found out about her character’s promotion to Vice President around the same time she found out she was going to be moved to the main cast for Organized Crime, mirroring reality pretty closely, and she had hints she would play a bigger part in the show early on.
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“I think that I always knew that the Marcy Killers, we’re going to really get into their story. So, I had a feeling and got some hints about Nova being pretty integral to that particular arc. So, I was kind of anticipating, hopefully, but I think as time went on it became clearer and clearer,” Johnson said. “Once we get into the Marcy killers, we’re getting into Nova’s story. So, that was really exciting to see that all unfold.”
We’re now starting to get a closer look at who Nova is as a person the more she interacts with the Organized Crime Division and exploring these more vulnerable aspects of the character will continue to be a major element this season.
“I think at the beginning after Nova loss Penda, we saw in the state and since then, we haven’t really seen her be super vulnerable, but that I think has to do a lot with not really knowing much about her life,” Johnson said. “And I think as we get to know more about her history and her family, with the introduction of her brother, we see her in a more vulnerable place and we see her wanting to be cared for and talked to and share that space with family that she hadn’t been able to for a really long time, I think since she lost Penda.”
The walls tend to come down just a bit more each and every time Nova talks to Bell, and their dynamic has been one of the highlights of the show. In another case of reality mirroring fiction, working with Danielle Mone Truitt has also been one of the highlights of putting the show together every week, and the characters’ dynamic and trust in each other will continue to grow and evolve throughout the season and beyond.
“I think that there’s this mutual trust that they have in each other, and that for Nova it’s really getting Bell to stand firm in that trust and believe that she can actually allow Nova to take the reins a little bit on her own,” Johnson said. “And I think that has definitely been one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had working on the show, is working with Danielle, because we unexpectedly, ‘We have a scene together. Oh, oh, we have another scene here, just the two of us.’ And we spend this time fleshing out what this dynamic is and fleshing out how not only we are working together, but how our respective worlds collide in some spaces.”
“So I think moving forward, you’ll see us, just us ping pong back and forth. You’ll see us butting heads a little bit, you’ll see handing off work and really working almost like we’re partners, and I think that’s something I’m really looking forward to. I think as we both are embedded in this Marcy Killer, Preston Webb, Leon Kilbride business, you’ll see us both negotiating what that means for the other people in our lives that we want to protect as well,” Johnson said.
Law & Order deals with heavy moments and scenarios more often than not, but the vibe behind the scenes is vastly different, and it’s that rollercoaster ride that makes it so fun to be a part of.
“I think from early on, it was me in a boys club. It was Nova and then it was Web and Kilbride and Michael Raymond James, and Albanians and guys. So, it was incredible from the get-go, working with this cast and seeing how they relate to the script and how fun it is and saying similar things, this is Law and Order, but it’s so different in a way,” Johnson said. “And I think that’s been so fun, talking to my peers and them sharing things like, ‘This is a crazy milestone and you’re doing Law and Order’, and have you seen the show though? Cause it’s so gritty and you wouldn’t know that being on set because it’s so incredibly light and fun, and I think that’s been the best part.”
“I can go in and I can do this argument with Bell or I can hold Penda in my arms, but when it stops rolling, everyone’s so fun and so great, and you can tell they’ve been working together for a while,” Johnson said. “You can tell they’re part of this larger thing that now I’m a part of, so it’s been really amazing to feel my way out and also just inherently become a part of what that is.”
Organized Crime is part of the larger Law & Order universe, which also includes Law & Order & Law & Order: SVU. SVU and Organized Crime have already crossed over several times, so when I brought up how we need a Fin and Nova scene at some point, Johnson is 100% on board.
“See, we’re on the exact same page because I think about it, a crossover. I can’t wait. But if when that happens, that’d be so amazing, and I said the same thing, Tutuola and Riley are on it, we team-up. So, I think that would be so cool,” Johnson said. “I feel that we are given this similar dynamic, I love it so much, and SVU, I grew up watching SVU, which is a little questionable, but also was one of my favorite shows growing up and I’ll sit by the TV, I’ll be doing my hair, I’ll be helping my mom with something and SVU will be on.”
Hopefully, we get to see Nova and Fin cross paths sooner than later, because that would be one entertaining team-up. In the meantime, you can catch Johnson every week on Law & Order: Organized Crime, which airs on NBC Thursdays at 10/9 Central.
Do you want to see Fin and Nova team up? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things Law & Order with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
