# Law & Order season 18

The eighteenth season of Law & Order premiered with a two part episode on NBC on January 2, 2008, and concluded on May 21, 2008. This was the final season to feature Jesse L. Martin, as he departs the series in episode 14 and is replaced in the cast by Anthony Anderson.

## Production

On May 13, 2007, NBC renewed Law & Order for an 18th season of 22 episodes as part of a deal made by series creator Dick Wolf and NBC. Though the series was originally scheduled to air on Sundays as a midseason replacement for NBC Sunday Night Football, TV Guide reported on December 4, 2007, that Law & Order would debut instead on Wednesday, January 2, 2008.
René Balcer, who had developed and produced spinoff Law & Order: Criminal Intent, returned to Law & Order as executive producer. Production of season 18 was interrupted by the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. When Balcer and the rest of the writing staff participated in the work stoppage, the mid-season delay meant that the season only had 18 episodes instead of the scheduled 22.

## Cast and crew changes

In May 2007, cast member Fred Thompson departed the series to return to politics, with reports saying he would seek the Republican nomination for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. His character, District Attorney Arthur Branch, was replaced in that function by Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy, with McCoy being promoted to Branch's vacant seat after serving as Executive Assistant District Attorney since the resignation of his predecessor Benjamin Stone. Since this move required that a new character be added to the series, the writers created the role of EADA Michael Cutter and British actor Linus Roache was brought in to portray him.
Because of the equal-time rule, which requires that broadcasters treat legally qualified political candidates equally in regard to air time, NBC announced in July 2007 that it would not broadcast any episode of Law & Order in which Thompson appeared after September 1. Thompson officially declared his intention to seek nomination on September 5, 2007, when he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Milena Govich, who played Detective Nina Cassady, also did not return to the series after joining the cast one year earlier following the departure of Dennis Farina (Joe Fontana). She was replaced by Jeremy Sisto, who had guest starred as a defense attorney in the 17th season finale, as Detective Ed Green's new partner Cyrus Lupo.
Rounding out the list of departures was Jesse L. Martin, who had portrayed Det. Ed Green since 1999. Martin, who was scheduled to appear in only 13 episodes this season, announced the move in February 2008 and made his final appearance in "Burn Card". Anthony Anderson, who made his debut as Detective Kevin Bernard in the same episode, was then added to the cast.

## Cast
### Main cast

* Jesse L. Martin as Senior Detective Ed Green (Episodes 1–14)
* Jeremy Sisto as Junior / Senior Detective Cyrus Lupo
* Anthony Anderson as Junior Detective Kevin Bernard (Episode 15–18)
* S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
* Linus Roache as Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter
* Alana de la Garza as Assistant District Attorney Connie Rubirosa
* Sam Waterston as Interim District Attorney Jack McCoy

### Recurring cast

* Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 394 | 1 | "Called Home" | Allen Coulter | René Balcer | January 2, 2008 (2008-01-02) | 18001 | 13.46 |
| Det. Cyrus Lupo returns to New York after serving four years abroad in the Intelligence division after learning his brother Thomas Lupo committed suicide. Lupo and Green reluctantly partner up to investigate another suicide committed the same way and soon find a suspect in a parolee known as "Dr. Death". First appearances of Jeremy Sisto as Detective Cyrus Lupo, and of Linus Roache as Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter. ||||||||
| 395 | 2 | "Darkness" | Michael Dinner | William N. Fordes & David Slack | January 2, 2008 (2008-01-02) | 18006 | 13.46 |
| Green and Lupo's first official case together is a kidnapping that happened during a citywide blackout; a housekeeper is slain and a mother and daughter are kidnapped. The evidence that links all the kidnappers is the father and husband of the kidnap victims. When they search the kidnappers' hideout, they find preparations which implies that the kidnappers knew that the blackout was coming. Cutter must convince the man to testify after he has lied about a search warrant to save the man's daughter, or else the kidnappers will all go free. Issues of a warrantless search arise. Courtroom scenes revolve around questions of Enron-like manipulation of energy. ||||||||
| 396 | 3 | "Misbegotten" | Michael Watkins | David Wilcox & Stephanie Sengupta | January 9, 2008 (2008-01-09) | 18002 | 11.02 |
| Green and Lupo investigate after a package explodes at a scientific research lab, resulting in the injury of Lori Emerson a pregnant security guard. The investigation soon turns to the scientist's latest experiments. Inspired by the concept of the gay gene. ||||||||
| 397 | 4 | "Bottomless" | Alex Chapple | Ed Zuckerman | January 16, 2008 (2008-01-16) | 18004 | 11.59 |
| The investigation into a pair of missing pants leads to the murder of Lily Yee a young lawyer. Green and Lupo soon turn their suspicions to a businessman who works for a shady multinational corporation called SavingsMart. Inspired by Roy Pearson's 54 million dollar pants lawsuit, by quality-control issues with goods from China, and by ethics enforcement at Wal-Mart. ||||||||
| 398 | 5 | "Driven" | Alan Taylor | Richard Sweren & Gina Gionfriddo | January 23, 2008 (2008-01-23) | 18009 | 10.35 |
| Lupo and Green investigate after David Kendall a white teenager and Tanya Anderson a young black girl are shot and killed in a local neighborhood. The investigation stalls when no one is willing to talk, but the detectives later learn that the victim had earlier had an altercation with someone in the neighborhood that led to a surprising altercation later that evening. ||||||||
| 399 | 6 | "Political Animal" | Jean de Segonzac | Ed Zuckerman & David Slack | January 30, 2008 (2008-01-30) | 18011 | 11.10 |
| A triple homicide has ties to a politician, but he may be just the first step toward the truth and a killer who will take desperate measures to keep his freedom. ||||||||
| 400 | 7 | "Quit Claim" | Jim McKay | William N. Fordes & David Wilcox | February 6, 2008 (2008-02-06) | 18010 | 10.06 |
| A hit-and-run investigation leads back to a title company, but Green, Rubirosa and Lupo's undercover work takes a surprising twist that pits McCoy against the U.S. Attorney's office. ||||||||
| 401 | 8 | "Illegal" | Constantine Makris | William N. Fordes & David Slack | February 13, 2008 (2008-02-13) | 18003 | 10.23 |
| A riot at an immigration rally ends in murder, and the political climate causes McCoy to assign a special prosecutor increasing tensions at the office. ||||||||
| 402 | 9 | "Executioner" | Constantine Makris | Richard Sweren & Gina Gionfriddo | February 20, 2008 (2008-02-20) | 18012 | 10.86 |
| A case of mistaken identity leads Green and Lupo to suspect that a murdered doctor may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. ||||||||
| 403 | 10 | "Tango" | Dean White | Stephanie Sengupta | February 27, 2008 (2008-02-27) | 18013 | 11.42 |
| A high school party turns tragic when a teenager Ann-Marie Liscombe is found dead, and the detectives end up playing games with the two leading suspects to find out the real story. Unfortunately, unwanted attention from a juror for A.D.A. Rubirosa may disrupt the trial. ||||||||
| 404 | 11 | "Betrayal" | Marc Levin | Richard Sweren & Gina Gionfriddo | March 5, 2008 (2008-03-05) | 18005 | 9.63 |
| The murder of Isaac Waxman, a psychiatrist, focuses the suspect list to his clients and wife, and the defense of the murderer will challenge the D.A.'s office to somehow show the jury that a bad childhood is not a justification for crime. ||||||||
| 405 | 12 | "Submission" | Constantine Makris | Ed Zuckerman | March 12, 2008 (2008-03-12) | 18007 | 11.85 |
| When the police shut down a dog-fighting ring, the investigation becomes a murder case after a woman's finger is found inside one of the dogs; things get more complicated as the case deepens, and the interest of a pushy reporter is sparked. ||||||||
| 406 | 13 | "Angelgrove" | Darnell Martin | David Wilcox & Stephanie Sengupta | March 19, 2008 (2008-03-19) | 18008 | 10.49 |
| A recorded conversation has Lupo and Green delving into the personal and family life of Audrey Lortell, a murdered art dealer, and suspected of connections to terrorist activity. ||||||||
| 407 | 14 | "Burn Card" | Mario Van Peebles | Ed Zuckerman & David Wilcox | April 23, 2008 (2008-04-23) | 18014 | 12.75 |
| Internal Affairs takes a special interest in Ed after he shoots a gambler that may be connected to a current case. The investigation turns up a part of his past he's taken pains to conceal. At the end, Green leaves the 27th Precinct even though all charges against him are dropped and he is cleared. Last appearance of Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green; first appearance of Anthony Anderson as Internal Affairs Detective Kevin Bernard. He becomes the Junior Detective, with Senior Detective Lupo, in the next episode. Detective Cyrus Lupo is promoted to Senior Detective. ||||||||
| 408 | 15 | "Bogeyman" | Tim Hunter | S : Gina Gionfriddo; S/T : Richard Sweren | April 30, 2008 (2008-04-30) | 18015 | 9.65 |
| A novelist's apparent suicide changes to a murder investigation. The suspects include a cult and her husband. Cutter's case is jeopardized by the defense attorney's indirect juror tampering tactics of scaring the jurors. ||||||||
| 409 | 16 | "Strike" | Marisol Torres | William N. Fordes & David Slack | May 7, 2008 (2008-05-07) | 18016 | 8.85 |
| A legal aid strike ends in the death of a paralegal, and the investigation leads to a golf pro who proclaims his innocence, again. Then the case takes an even stranger twist when Rubirosa is pitted against Cutter because of the strike that started it all. ||||||||
| 410 | 17 | "Personae Non Gratae" | John Coles | Stephanie Sengupta & Matthew McGough | May 14, 2008 (2008-05-14) | 18017 | 8.46 |
| An online romance may be at the heart of a mechanic's murder, but Detectives Lupo and Bernard must unravel some truly bizarre developments before the full story is known. ||||||||
| 411 | 18 | "Excalibur" | Jim McKay | René Balcer & Ed Zuckerman | May 21, 2008 (2008-05-21) | 18018 | 8.57 |
| A jeweler's murder may have ties to a prostitution ring. Once the case goes to trial, D.A. McCoy's job is on the line as favors are called in. ||||||||