Sam Waterston Returns to 'Law & Order' as Jack McCoy in First Teaser for Upcoming NBC Revival

Law & Order will premiere its 21st season on NBC next month after more than a decade off the air 

Photo: NBC

Sam Waterston is back in the Law & Order universe.

On Thursday, NBC released the first promo for the upcoming revival series, premiering Feb. 24, and it shows Waterston reprising his role as District Attorney Jack McCoy.

"It's okay to be the hero, as long as you win," he says ominously in the brief clip, which naturally concludes with the franchise's iconic "dun dun."

Waterston, 81, starred in Law & Order from season 5 in 1994 until its finale in 2010, earning three Emmy Award nominations for his performance in 1997, 1999 and 2000, as well as a Golden Globe nod in 1995.

He's since portrayed DA McCoy on a few occasions, most recently in a 2018 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Series creator Dick Wolf first announced Waterston's return last month, telling Deadline, "Very few casting announcements have ever given me this much pleasure."

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"Since day one, Sam has had perfect pitch when it comes to Jack McCoy as a character who both reflects and expands our ability to understand the law," Wolf said. "He is the ultimate conscience of the show and I look forward to him emulating the career of New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who served until he was 90."

Anthony Anderson is also set to reprise his role as Detective Kevin Bernard from the original series. Hugh Dancy, Jeffrey Donovan, Camryn Manheim and Odelya Halevi have joined the cast as newcomers.

"With both Sam and Anthony returning, it shows that the 21st season is merely a continuation of where we left off," Wolf said in his previous statement to Deadline.

Law & Order ran for 20 seasons from 1990 until 2010 and has launched several successful spinoffs in addition to SVU, including Law & Order: Criminal Intent, the Christopher Meloni-led Law & Order: Organized Crime and the upcoming Law & Order: For the Defense.

Wolf's production company, Wolf Entertainment, announced in September that they would be revisiting the flagship series.

In a previous statement, the series said it "will continue where the show left off in 2010, with the classic format that explores two separate, yet equally important groups: 'the police who investigate crimes and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.' "

Season 21 of Law & Order premieres Feb. 24 on NBC.