‘Law & Order’ Returns: Jack McCoy & Kevin Bernard Are Joined By New Faces (PHOTOS)

D.A. Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Detective Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson) are back, and now that NBC has released photos from the Law & Order Season 21 premiere, we have a look at them in action.

When the series picks up again — after ending with its 20th season in 2010 — Bernard has a new partner, Detective Frank Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan). In the premiere, “The Right Thing,” they’ll investigate the murder of a notorious entertainer. Also new in the NYPD is Lieutenant Kate Dixon (Camryn Manheim).

“The world’s a lot different than the last time Law & Order was on, and we wanted somebody that could speak to those issues,” executive producer Rick Eid said. “Anthony felt like the perfect person to do that.”

Elsewhere in the episode, a dispute over throwing out a confession creates a rift in the DA’s office. Joining McCoy there are ADA Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) and ADA Samantha Maroun (Odelya Halevi).  Price “has great respect for McCoy and appreciates his counsel when necessary, but they look at the world a little differently and might have different perspectives on how to try a murder case in 2022,” Eid previewed.

Law & Order continues with its bifurcated format of police procedural (the murder investigation and apprehension of a suspect by the NYPD) and legal drama (the prosecution of the defendant by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office).

Scroll down for a look at “The Right Thing.”

Law & Order, Season 21 Premiere, Thursday, February 24, 8/7c, NBC