Sam Waterston said farewell to the Law & Order franchise with tonight’s episode, with Jack McCoy stepping back into the courtroom one final time. Waterston has been a part of the flagship Law & Order series for over 400 episodes and is synonymous with the franchise. It’s the end of an era with his departure, and that is just as true for the cast and crew of the show as it is for the fans. The official Law & Order Instagram page released Waterston’s farewell address to the cast, crew, and fans as he steps out of the beloved role, and you can watch the full address in the post below.
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“Dear Friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate the sadness of this parting. To this place and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived for a quarter of a century and gone from a young to an old man. If 25 or 30 years doesn’t matter then nothing matters at all, and that’s what this has been,” Waterston said.
“This is just amazing, and I have had a privilege that practically nobody in show business has, to be involved over that long period of time with different people but the same community and being privileged to be a member, a member of the same team all this time,” Waterston said. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. God bless you.”
The official account shared the video with the caption, “Thank you, from the bottom of OUR hearts. ❤️ Watch Sam Waterston’s final #LawAndOrder TONIGHT 8/7c on @nbc and streaming on @peacock.”
When the show made its return in 2022, Waterston returned to the role of McCoy to lead the District Attorney’s office. It was quite surreal for Waterston to step back onto the set, comparing it to stepping into a Time Machine.
“It was totally surreal. Unbelievable,” Waterston told Variety. “It’s a step back in time. They built the sets in every detail down to the books on the shelves to the linoleum on the floor. You know perfectly well that it wasn’t all being done for you, but you can’t escape the feeling that you’re being given this opportunity to step back in time in your own life.”
Law & Order stars Sam Waterston, Hugh Dancy, Camryn Manheim, Odelya Halevi, Mehcad Brooks and Reid Scott. Dick Wolf is the creator and executive producer. Rick Eid, Pamela Wechsler, Alex Hall, Arthur Forney and Peter Jankowski are executive producers.
What did you think of McCoy’s final episode? Let us know in the comments, and as always you can talk all things Law & Order with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
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