If you watched Super Bowl LVI on NBC last week, then you saw several promotional spots for the return of the network’s iconic, original “Law & Order” – dun-dun! The progenitor of countless spin-offs that ran from 1990 to 2010 will return to NBC for a 21st season on Thursday, February 24 with a cast of old and new talent.

Returning will be Sam Waterston as dogged District Attorney Jack McCoy and Anthony Anderson as Detective Kevin Bernard. Both actors signed one-year contracts late last year to bring their characters back to the small screen. Series creator Dick Wolf will also return as an executive producer.

Starring alongside Anderson on the police force will be Jeffrey Donovan (“Burn Notice”) as Detective Frank Cosgrove and Camryn Manheim (“The Practice”) as Lieutenant Kate Dixon. Joining the District Attorney’s Office with Waterston will be Hugh Dancy (“Hannibal”) as Executive Assistant District Attorney Nathan Price and newcomer Odelya Halevi as Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun. Rick Eid (executive producer and showrunner of “FBI” and “Chicago P.D.”) will take over as showrunner.

Throughout its 20 seasons, “Law & Order” offered a big break for unknown actors and actresses who are now household names. In 1990 Cynthia Nixon appeared in the second episode of the first season (“Subterranean Homeboy Blues”) as a woman facing charges for shooting several men on the subway. Another first season episode (“The Violence of Summer”) included guest appearances from Philip Seymour Hoffman as a drug dealer and Samuel L. Jackson as one of his attorneys. In 1994 Laura Linney guest starred in a season five episode (“Blue Bamboo”) as a singer accused of murder. In 2001, Idris Elba and Kerry Washington appeared in a season 12 episode (“3 Dawg Night”). And in 2010, Adam Driver played a grad student passionate about feeding lab rats in a season 20 episode (“Brilliant Disguise”).

Immensely popular with viewers and critics alike, “Law & Order” has won its share of prestigious awards, including a Peabody Entertainment Award (1996), an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series (1997), and Screen Actors Guild Awards for Waterston (1999) and Jerry Orbach (2005).

Many of Wolf’s shows film at Broadway Stages facilities, including “FBI,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” and “Law & Order: Organized Crime.” We are super excited to continue our collaboration with Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television and look forward to seeing D.A. McCoy and Detective Bernard back at work on Thursday nights.