‘Law & Order’ Adds David Ajala to Season 25 Cast

NBC’s Law & Order is filling a vacancy in its regular cast.

Star Trek: Discovery alum David Ajala has joined the long-running crime procedural, where he’ll play an NYPD detective alongside Reid Scott’s Vincent Riley. Ajala’s first appearance on the show will come partway through the season; Law & Order opens its 25th campaign Thursday night.

Ajala’s casting comes two months after Mehcad Brooks, who played Detective Jalen Shaw for three seasons, departed the series. In a somewhat unusual setup for the series — which has almost always featured two lead detectives investigating homicides — Scott’s character will not have a partner for the first few episodes.

Scott and the rest of the regular cast from season 24 — Maura Tierney, Hugh Dancy, Odelya Halevi and Tony Goldwyn — are returning for the coming season.

Ajala played Cleveland Booker for three seasons on Star Trek: Discovery. He’ll next be seen in Netflix’s movie The Woman in Cabin 10, which is set to premiere Oct. 10. Other credits include MGM+’s Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue, a recurring role on Supergirl, The Jetty at the BBC and USA Network’s Falling Water. He is repped by CAA, Independent Talent Group, Strand Entertainment and Goodman Genow.

Law & Order is produced by Universal Television in assocation with Wolf Entertainment. Dick Wolf, Rick Eid, Alex Hall and Peter Jankowski executive produce.