Law & Order

Season 23

Freedom of Expression

1. First appearance of Reid Scott as Detective Vincent Riley, replacing Frank Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan ).
2. This episode appears to be based on several different cases/incidents:
   • The Claudine Gay controversies.
   • The Rachel Corrie case.
   • The 2020 Killings of Aaron Danielson and Michael Reinoehl
   • The 2023 Israel-Hamas war protests that took place at United States universities.
   • The increase of international hate crimes resulting from the Israel-Hamas War.
3. This episode takes place from November 28, 2023 to January 18, 2024.

Human Innovation

1. This episode takes place from November 15, 2023 to January 25, 2024.
2. This episode appears to have been inspired by the 2023 murder of Bob Lee. Lee was a San Francisco Tech Entrepreneur, who founded the Fintech (Financial Technology) company Cash App. He was the chief technology officer of Square and the chief product officer of MobileCoin. On April 4, 2023, Lee was fatally stabbed in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. The San Francisco Police Department later arrested Nima Momeni for Lee's killing on April 13, 2023.

Turn the Page

1. This episode takes place from December 4, 2023 to February 1, 2024.
2. This episode appears to be based on several different cases/incidents:
   • The 2022 Winnipeg serial killings committed by Jeremy Skibicki.
   • The 1999-2000 Vincent Johnson (a.k.a. "The Brooklyn Strangler") case.
   • The 2011 Murder of Sian O'Callaghan committed by Christopher Halliwell.
   • The 1976-1984 James B. Grinder case.

Unintended Consequences

1. Lt. Dixon says that forensics used Bode X-Traction to recover DNA from the shell casing at the crime scene. X-Traction is a proprietary technology developed by Bode Technology designed to recover samples of fragmented or degraded DNA, it allows the recovery of up to ten times the amount of usable DNA from things were DNA can be degraded, like the heat and chemical reactions that a spent shell casing is exposed to.
2. When Detectives Riley and Shaw are interviewing Max Quattro in his apartment, the large artwork in the background behind the detectives is by (or in the style of) the famous artist Keith Haring.
3. This episode takes place from November 26, 2023 to February 8, 2024.

Last Dance

1. Last appearance of Sam Waterston. Spanning close to 30 years and more than 400 episodes, this makes him the longest serving cast member of any "Law & Order" show. However, Mariska Hargitay still beats him in terms of an uninterrupted run.
2. After Blue Bloods (2010), this is the second time that Bruce Altman has played the Mayor of New York City.
3. This episode takes place from December 12, 2023 to February 22, 2024.
4. 33 years earlier, Bruce Altman starred in the Season 1, two-part episode The Torrents of Greed: Part 1 (1991) and The Torrents of Greed: Part 2 (1991) as the brother-in-law of a mafia crime boss.

On the Ledge

1. Only five cast members are shown in the intro, instead of the usual six, reflecting Sam Waterston's departure from the series, as well as Tony Goldwyn not yet joining the cast.
2. In this episode EADA Nolan Price is made acting District Attorney.
3. This episode takes place from November 28, 2023 to February 29, 2024.
4. This episode appears to be based on several different cases/incidents:
   • The 2023 Midtown Atlanta hospital shooting.
   • The 2017 Bronx-Lebanon Hospital shooting.
   • The disputed "race-based traumatic stress" response.

Balance of Power

1. Tony Goldwyn joins the cast as DA Nicholas Baxter, replacing long-time series star Sam Waterston (Jack McCoy). But Goldwyn himself, is no stranger to the L&O Universe. He previously appeared as Frank Goren, the drug addicted older half-brother of Detective Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio ) in Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001).
2. This episode takes place from January 12 to March 14, 2024.
3. This episode appears to be partially based on the 2021GameStop short squeeze.

Facade

1. The episode appears to be based on several cases/incidents:
   • The Jordan Neely case. On May 1, 2023, a 30-year-old black man who was homeless and emotionally-disturbed, was placed in an extended chokehold by Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old former Marine, in response to Neely yelling and frightening riders on board a New York subway. Neely subsequently died. On June 14, 2023, Penny was indicted on a charge of second-degree manslaughter. The trial is scheduled to start October 8, 2024.
   • The Chris Rock/Will Smith slapping incident.
   • The Killing of O'Shae Sibley.
   • the Killing of Oscar Grant.
   • The trial of Derek Chauvin.
   • The far-right Rise Above Movement.
   • The recent increase of attacks on standup comedians and the resulting safety concerns.
   • The epidemic of subway crimes in New York City.
   • The "adrenal fatigue" pseudoscience controversy.
   • Partially ripped from the film The Naked Kiss (1964).
2. It is mentioned that "blood and soil" is a slogan used by white supremacy groups. It originates from the days of Nazi Germany and was used to express their ideal of a racially pure population (blood) living together in the same geographic area (soil), separate from other races.
3. The number 8 as in 88 refers to the eight letter in the alphabet. In other words, 88 is HH, which is short for "Heil Hitler" or "Hail Hitler".
4. The episode started off as a variation of the episode, Subterranean Homeboy Blues (1990), starring Cynthia Nixon of Sex and the City (1998) fame, pretty dancer attacked on the subway.
5. This episode takes place from January 17 to March 21, 2024.

Family Ties

1. This episode appears to be based on two separate cases/incidents:
   • The Seth Rich case.
   • The Ukrainian refugee crisis.
2. This episode takes place from January 15 to April 11, 2024.

Inconvenient Truth

1. This episode takes place from February 7 to April 18, 2024.
2. This episode appears to be based on the Michael Avenatti extortion case.

Castle in the Sky

1. The actress playing the judge, Milica Govich, is the aunt of the director of this episode (Milena Govich).
2. This episode takes place from February 20 to May 2, 2024.

No Good Deed

1. The 500th episode of the series.
2. This episode takes place from January 25 to May 9, 2024.

In Harm's Way

1. Tess Goldwyn (Carrie Baxter) is the real life daughter of Tony Goldwyn (DA Nicholas Baxter).
2. Camryn Manheim's final episode. Her character Lieutenant Kate Dixon is replaced by new lieutenant Jessica Brady (Maura Tierney) in the following season premier. Dixon's exit is later explained as deciding to "tag along" with her son Patrick, who accepts a job while attending school in Miami.
3. Detective Vincent Riley threatens to charge a woman with unlawful possession of ammunition. With the passing of New York's Concealed Carry Improvement Act in July of 2022 the state of New York is now requiring a background check to be performed for ALL ammunition sales, even for New York state handgun permit holders (which makes no sense as you can't have said permit without passing a background check). Around the same time New York City implemented Administrative Code 10-131: unlawful possession of ammunition, which makes it illegal for a person without a New York state handgun permit to possess handgun ammunition. It also makes it illegal for a person with a handgun permit to be in possession of ammunition that is not for the handgun registered to them, for example someone with a registered 9mm cannot legally possess .38 Special ammo. Unlawful possession of ammunition is a class B misdemeanor and carries a sentence of up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.
4. This episode appears to be based several different cases/incidents:
   • The Giuseppe Zangara case.
   • The John Hinckley Jr. case.
   • Inspired by the lives and relationship of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
   • The Alexandra Daddario stalking case.
5. This episode takes place from March 5 to May 16, 2024.