Terrence Howard Joining 'Law & Order: Los Angeles'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — "Law & Order: Los Angeles" is getting another big-name prosecutor.

Oscar-nominated Terrence Howard is joining the cast of the new NBC drama and will rotate with co-star Alfred Molina as deputy district attorney, series creator Dick Wolf told the Television Critics Association on Friday.

"I feel like manager of the 1961 Yankees. I have my Mantle and Maris," Wolf said, referring to famed sluggers Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.

Howard, an Oscar nominee for "Hustle & Flow," also has appeared in the films "Iron Man," "Crash" and "Ray."

Also joining the cast is Corey Stoll, who will play a police detective. Stoll appears in the new Angelina Jolie film "Salt" and guest-starred in the original "Law & Order."

His character is partner to Skeet Ulrich's detective.

Wolf was circumspect about the demise of the original "Law & Order" series, which was canceled by NBC after a 20-year run that tied the record set by "Gunsmoke" but lost the chance to break it.

"That's business. That's life. Everything on TV is born under a death sentence. They just don't tell you the execution date," Wolf said, adding that the show had a great run.

Asked if money had been the dealbreaker in renewal talks with NBC, Wolf retorted, "You can't believe we're going to discuss negotiations."

"There's so many factors that entered into the network's decision. ... In the 25 years I've been continuously on the air at NBC, we've never failed to make a deal when there was a deal to be made," he said.

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NBC is owned by General Electric Co.

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Online:

http://www.nbc.com

Comments

[ZenSufi]

03:07 PM on 08/02/2010

Good call. This gives L&O a less humid atmosphere. I expect Ice-Cube to make a special appearance.

[Tails]

02:08 PM on 08/12/2010

Haha. He just has to.

So does McCoy. Extradition time!

[oceanofconsciousness]

01:39 PM on 08/02/2010

Another L&O? How about Law and Order: Rest in Peace

[Max Hardcore]

10:46 PM on 08/01/2010

i hate how he talks. a phony affect redoubled on itself.

[Mort]

10:18 PM on 08/01/2010

Terrence will be a great addition to the cast. Love his work.

[mapmaker515]

06:27 PM on 08/01/2010

Wow....one of the most promising black actors to appear in hollywood in a while and he still has to do television in order to remain employed.

[ladyvader]

03:49 AM on 08/02/2010

TV actors made plenty. I know some make more but for giggles lets say the average is $10000 per episode. I think that is plenty.

[ladyvader]

04:09 AM on 08/02/2010

I meant $100000 not $10000

[mapmaker515]

05:22 PM on 08/02/2010

It's not so much the money aspect...but the fact movie stars think television is slumming it. Of course there is good money in both venues but with all the movies being made in hollywood why are there so few, black male (or female) leads?

[OC4Obama4Pres]

10:26 AM on 08/02/2010

Well, he could have still been part of the Iron Man franchise, but...

[Valencie Bathe]

02:41 PM on 08/01/2010

L&O is usually too violent for me, but Terence Howard is an amazing actor. I've never watched an entire episode (of any of the franchises), but I guess I'll have to try one more time when Terence comes on the air.

[hey0there]

10:31 AM on 08/01/2010

remember when he was on leno and out of the blue he pulls out a purple inhaler and takes a puff then hes telling some creepy colonoscopy story

hes pretty bizarre

[BlindChance]

01:16 PM on 08/01/2010

He tells a lot of stories, and now I won't be watching L&O LA. It'll probably go the way of L&O: Trial by Jury, anyway. L&O doesn't feel right outside of NYC.

[JimR]

09:28 AM on 08/02/2010

Agree. I think the franchise has run its course, anyway.

[hearken]

08:13 AM on 08/01/2010

I don't watch any L.A. cop shows...they are all the same. There are other cities in CA like San Diego should have been the city of choice for NCIS LA.

[OC4Obama4Pres]

10:25 AM on 08/02/2010

Agree.

[WurrdUp]

06:30 AM on 08/01/2010

They took our Vanessa Williams, now they're taking our Law and Order. But okay, you've got me with dreamy Terrance. I'll watch.

[Catherine Gentry]

04:17 AM on 08/01/2010

With all due respect to Terrence Howard, I am even more excited to see Alfred Molina on Law and Order L.A. He is one of my favorite actors. What a coup by NBC to be able to get both of these incredibly talented artists.

[ponderingmuch]

02:31 AM on 08/01/2010

The baby wipes thing made me not want to watch him ever again.

Glad to hear he will be alternating with Alfred Molina.

[Kiabell04]

02:03 AM on 08/01/2010

I'm reall interested in this....I may have to tune in.

[autmarfcvsmom]

02:02 AM on 08/01/2010

I want L&O in NYC where it belongs.

[flurryup]

06:11 AM on 08/01/2010

I thought about that earlier. I agree with you.

[ECB]

01:47 AM on 08/02/2010

Ditto !

[BroadwayJoe]

01:29 AM on 08/01/2010

Good actor but always sounds like he's crying.

What's goin' on with L&O: LA, mayne?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPIDBEaoov4

[liberalgirl31]

11:39 PM on 07/31/2010

Howard doing TV is not a step down. Many movie actors are doing TV because it's a steady paycheck. It's no longer taboo for film actors to do TV. Examples:

Jackie Earle Haley---Human Target

Kyra Sedgwick--The Closer

Laurence Fishburne--CSI

Jeff Goldblum--L&O: Criminal Intent (which used to have Vincent D'nofrio, another film actor, as its lead)

Patricia Arquette--Medium

Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer--Two and a Half Men

Glenn Close and Rose Byrne--Damages

Jada Pinkett Smith--Hawthorne

Especially if one is a person of color or a woman, one will get better parts on TV than in film.