Martin as Det. Ed Green and S. Epatha Merkerson as Lt.

Anita Van Buren alongside white leads Jerry Orbach, Sam Waterston, Fred Thompson, and Elisabeth Röhm, reflecting organic diversity consistent with the series since the 1990s rather than forced DEI changes or race/gender-swapping. Storytelling remains a traditional ripped-from-the-headlines procedural focused on crime-solving and trials, with only incidental progressive elements in a few episodes: 'Married with Children' involves a lesbian couple challenging a gay adoption ban treated as a neutral legal dispute; 'Ill-Conceived' touches on illegal immigrant workers in a factory and surrogacy without systemic critique; 'Evil Breeds' deals with deporting a Nazi camp guard via a Holocaust survivor's murder testimony, emphasizing justice over identity politics lectures. No overt social justice messaging, creator activism (Dick Wolf positioned shows as apolitical), or prominent LGBTQ+/non-traditional identities as focal points dominate plots or arcs. No evidence of audience backlash labeling it 'woke,' controversies over politics, or changes clashing with source material, as reception centers on cast transitions like Orbach's exit rather than ideology.