Law & Order’s newest detective will bring a new perspective to the series.
Showrunner Rick Eid shared how Mehcad Brooks will shift up Law & Order when he joins in Season 22.
His character, Detective Jalen Shaw, will debut in the big three-part crossover of the Law & Order shows that kick off the season on September 22.
Eid is now detailing more of Shaw’s background and what drove him to become a cop. That includes the revelation he was originally going to be a lawyer.
While circumstances drove him to the police force, Shaw is trying his best as a cop to maintain justice in his own way.
This promises some dramatic developments for the character and Brooks himself is eager to bring a new change to the show.
Shaw looks ready to shake up Law & Order with a new dynamic as the series prepares for another epic season.
Law & Order’s newest detective revealed
Usually, Law & Order doesn’t delve into the personal lives of its detectives that often.
For years, it was common for a new detective to join with little to no discussion of their backgrounds or what brought them to the force. For example, it was never explained where Joe Fontana’s (Dennis Farina) wealth came from or why he was a cop.
Frank Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan) did get some explanation of a veteran cop once investigated by Internal Affairs but likewise, not much into his background. However, Jalen Shaw will be different.
Speaking to Give Me My Remote, Law & Order showrunner Rick Eid shared some details on Shaw’s background and what brought him to the NYPD.
“He’s a former lawyer. And he is a former narcotics detective, who is new to homicide…he probably went to NYU [for] law school, got a job at a law firm in the city. And after a year or two of being disillusioned, he was like, ‘I want to do something that excites me.’ [So then] he went to the police academy.”
This different perspective will be important for Shaw’s debut on Law & Order.
How Shaw and Cosgrove’s partnership will work
Shaw will debut in the big three-part crossover on September 22 with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime. He will then transfer to become Cosgrove’s new partner.
Eid believes that Shaw’s new attitude will spark up the show and the partnership with Cosgrove.
“He brings a different perspective to law enforcement, and certainly to being a police officer, a detective. And he’s got a modern point of view on a lot of things. So I think he’s an interesting partner for Cosgrove, as well. He’s younger, from a different point of view, sees the world a little differently; different upbringing. “
One part of Shaw’s background that will be an effect is his intellect and past as a lawyer, which will clash with Cosgrove’s street experience. But at the end of the day, the pair are on the same page finding justice.
“[His past as a lawyer] more informs the way he thinks—he’s a really smart, intellectual guy, So he comes at things a little from a more cerebral perspective; Cosgrove’s a little more sort of visceral and instinctive and I think Shaw’s a little more cerebral…But they have a common objective: they’re both dedicated to finding that [bad] guy.”
Brooks had posted an emotional message on how it felt to join the franchise, given his own troublesome experiences with police officers in the past.
As he joins this iconic series, Brooks and Shaw are each going to shake up Law & Order with a fresh attitude for a new era.
Law & Order Season 22 premieres Thursday September 22 at 10/9c on NBC.
