Jeffrey Donovan Leaving Law & Order Ahead of Season 23

Jeffrey Donovan is the second actor to leave the ‘Law & Order’ revival after Anthony Anderson stepped away post season 21

Jeffrey Donovan is stepping away from Law & Order.

The actor who played Detective Frank Cosgrove on the series won’t return for season 23, PEOPLE has confirmed.

Donovan, 55, took on the lead detective role in seasons 21 and 22 of the series. His last episode was the season 22 finale, which saw an arrest for assassinating a U.S. Senator. Thirteen new episodes of the series are slated to air sometime in 2024.

Donovan did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Law & Order’s recent seasons serve as a reboot for the classic legal drama, which aired from 1990 to 2010. Season 21 came 12 years later with a 2022 premiere and some new additions to the legal team. Donovan shared the screen with Mehcad Brooks, Sam Waterston, Hugh Dancy, Camryn Manheim, Odelya Halevi and Anthony Anderson, who left his legacy role as Det. Kevin Bernard after season 21.

Anderson previously spoke of his excitement to join the revival — even calling series creator Dick Wolf to reprise the role. I was like, ‘Well, you know, I’m a free agent as of Nov. 19th,'” Anderson said of black-ish ending back in 2022. “And [Dick] was like, ‘Anthony, you have no idea how happy this phone call makes me.’”

Though his time on Law & Order has concluded, Donovan is no stranger to a TV courtroom. He starred in 2000s crime series Burn Notice as the sarcastic Michael Weston, and appeared as a defense attorney in Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile — a dramatization of the life of serial killer Ted Bundy.

source: people.com