The Law & Order Legend Who Will Appear In An Upcoming Organized Crime Episode

Each week that it airs, "Law & Order: Organized Crime" pits longtime "Law & Order" lead Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) against a sector of the world of organized crime in New York City. While "Law & Order" is a massive, long-running franchise, "Organized Crime" is only in the midst of its second season. During the relatively short amount of time the show has been on the air, it's paired elements familiar to fans of the series, like Stabler's famous intensity, with ideas entirely new to the world of "Law & Order." For example, a romance between newcomers Jet Slootmaekers (Ainsley Seiger) and Malachi Mintock (Wesam Keesh) has particularly become a hit among viewers.

"Organized Crime" arguably reached its apex in Season 2, Episode 8, which concluded a story arc focused on an Albanian gang known as the Kosta Organization. Since then, the show has bolstered its cast with the addition of actor Jennifer Beals, known to some viewers as cantina owner Madam Garsa in "The Book of Boba Fett." While she portrays a character entirely new to the "Law & Order" universe, a franchise staple will soon appear alongside her and the rest of the series' cast in an upcoming episode of "Organized Crime," according to a recent announcement.

On March 11, TVLine shared the news that "Law & Order: Organized Crime" Season 2, Episode 19 will feature Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen. While viewers solely familiar with "Organized Crime," or even with a passing knowledge of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" in recent years may not recognize Florek, he's a longtime franchise veteran, first appearing in the pilot episode of the original "Law & Order" series in 1990 (via IMDb). Since then, he's been in a total of 69 "Law & Order" episodes (before he was written off the series) and 332 episodes of "Special Victims Unit" between 1991 and 2021. That said, Florek only began showing up sporadically after 2013, appearing in 4 episodes in that 8 year span. His sole appearance in 2021 was in honor of the series' 500th episode.

An official synopsis of the upcoming "Organized Crime" episode featuring Florek as Cragen reads, "when Donnelly's (Denis Leary) version of events don't match up to what Stabler remembers about his father's heroic rescue on the job, Stabler turns to his friend and mentor Donald Cragen for help sorting out the truths from the lies."

Fans of "Law & Order" interested in witnessing Cragen's return can do so when "Organized Crime" Season 2, Episode 19 airs on April 7.