Jeremy Sisto to join force on ‘Law & Order’

updated 6:39 p.m. ET June 5, 2007

NEW YORK - Jeremy Sisto is joining the police force on “Law & Order” next season.

Sisto, who starred on “Kidnapped” last season, will return to NBC as a detective on “Law & Order,” said Dick Wolf, the series’ executive producer. The crime drama will begin its 18th year when it returns to the air in midseason.

Although Sisto guest-starred on the series’ 17th-season finale last month as a defense attorney, he will be playing a new character with the New York Police Department. He is expected to replace Milena Govich, who played Detective Nina Cassady.

“I have watched Jeremy’s career evolve and grow, and I am absolutely thrilled that he has decided to join ‘Law & Order,’ ” Wolf said in a statement Friday.

Sisto starred on the HBO drama “Six Feet Under.” His screen credits include Adrienne Shelly’s romantic comedy “Waitress,” now in theaters.

Word of Sisto’s hiring followed an announcement earlier this week that Fred Thompson, edging toward a presidential run, had asked to be released from “Law & Order.” Thompson had played New York District Attorney Arthur Branch for five seasons.

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