How Sam Waterston Wrapped His Final Episode As Law & Order’s Jack McCoy

Waterston’s final episode, aptly named Last Dance sees Jack McCoy in court for his final case which involves a woman who was found dead in Central park and a local tech billionaire with ties to the New York City mayor, Robert Payne (Bruce Altman).

McCoy takes on the case from assistant DA Nolan Price following threats he would be removed from office by the mayor and not support McCoy’s bid for re-election.

Due to the city’s corruption, McCoy makes the heartbreaking decision (both on and off screen for fans) to resign.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” McCoy tells Price. “It’s time. It just is. Look, the mayor is a vindictive son of a b—h. He’s going to call in every chip he has to make sure my opponent wins the election. And he will succeed.”

“He’s going to bury everyone who wronged him, including you,” McCoy says. “If I step aside now, the governor will be able to appoint someone. Someone with integrity.”

Enter Tony Goldwyn.

Earlier this month, NBC announced that the Scandal actor will be entering the district attorney’s office and playing the new DA.

Waterston — who is 83 years old — has played DA Jack McCoy on the series for a massive 30 years, appearing in over 400 episodes and is one of the most beloved characters from the show.

His last episode aired February, 22.

McCoy is one of the characters most associated with Law & Order, having been a regular since 1994.

Waterston was nominated for three Emmys in the late ’90s for his work on Law & Order. McCoy who started as an Executive Assistant District Attorney and then became the District Attorney himself.

He first joined NBC’s series in 1994 spending the next 16 years playing the fan favorite, and returned in 2022 when Law & Order returned after a 12-year hiatus.

This has made him the longest-running cast member in Law & Order’s 23-season history.

Waterston has said goodbye to his loyal fans in a heartfelt statement through Wolf Entertainment. 

“Greetings, you wonderful people. It’s a pleasure to talk directly like this to the backbone of Law & Order‘s absolutely amazing audience. The time has come for me to move on and take Jack McCoy with me,” the actor began.

“There’s sadness in leaving, but I’m just too curious about what’s next. An actor doesn’t want to let himself get too comfortable. I’m more grateful to you than I can say.”

Waterston then goes on to thank fans and the show’s leader and creator – Dick Wolf.

The actor appeared on Today following the news and assured fans that this is not the end of him as an actor, just the end of his role on Law & Order.