Is another return in ‘Order’ for Sam Waterston?
Q: I know that Sam Waterston has left “Law & Order.” Is there any chance that he might come back for guest appearances as Jack McCoy? – Ken Betts, via e-mail
A: As long as the actor is still available and willing, there’s always a chance. However, if that were to happen, we wouldn’t bet on it being soon, since he’s sure to be respectful of Tony Goldwyn having the time and space to settle in as his successor on the NBC drama. Waterston himself wanted that sort of leverage when he first joined the show in 1994, which he made clear at the time. He also wanted to be mindful of his “Law & Order” forerunner, Michael Moriarty, whose character Ben Stone preceded McCoy. After he was hired for the series, Waterston didn’t want to address his work there until had a chance to get situated on the program and into the mindset of McCoy. Always known as someone of personal and professional conviction, Waterston would be sure that all the circumstances were right before he re-entered the “Law & Order” universe … though executive producer Dick Wolf and the show’s other makers undoubtedly would love to have him back in any way, much as they did when the series made its return in 2022.
Q: Including his most recent appearance in January. How many times has Justin Timberlake been on “Saturday Night Live”? – Christie Howard, via e-mail
A: He has hosted the iconic NBC show five times and has been a musical guest seven times — including that latest stint in January and the first time he was on the program as a member of NSYNC. He also popped up in one episode in a surprise-guest capacity.
Timberlake’s January return to “SNL” marked the first time he had been on the show in more than a decade, the previous time having been in December 2013. An interesting aspect of his latest round in it was that the host of that episode was Dakota Johnson, with whom Timberlake shared his first scene in the 2010 movie “The Social Network.”
Q: It’s been nice to see America Ferrera get recognition for her performance in “Barbie.” Was “Ugly Betty” the first TV series she did? – Jennifer Davies, Norman, Okla.
A: Her title role in that widely acclaimed 2006-10 ABC show — for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, among other honors — marked her first continuing character in a series, though she also had been was a host of the PBS anthology “Independent Lens” prior to, during and after her “Ugly Betty” run.
Ferrera also had done guest roles in episodes of CBS’ “Touched by an Angel” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” prior to “Ugly Betty.” After the latter show, she had a recurring part on CBS’ “The Good Wife,” but her next major series run came with the NBC sitcom “Superstore,” of which she also was a co-producer and an occasional director. Most recently in TV terms, Ferrera appeared on the fact-inspired Apple TV+ drama “WeCrashed.”