The thread about actors playing characters with the same profession on multiple shows is fun, so let’s see what we can do with this topic too.
Ground rules:
show in question must have been on the same time as Law and Order series (1990-2010+)
long-running = five seasons, minimum, during the years 1990-2010 (seasons before 1990 okay as long as 5 or more were post-1989_
no one in the cast appeared in an episode of a Law & Order franchise series.
cast is defined as all regular characters and frequently reoccurring characters. For the latter, our benchmarks will be set at Newman on Seinfeld and Rose on Two and a Half Men who appeared in many episodes in different seasons, **not **at Wil Wheaton on Big Bang Theory level. * all versions of Law and Order count
Law & Order was on the air for twenty years and spawned several spin-off series (L&W: Special Victims Unit; L&W: Criminal Intent; L&W: Trial by Jury; L&W: UK, L&W: LA) most of which are still on the air, and over the years it seems like almost everyone who is on TV has appeared in an episode.
But surely there must be a few TV shows whose entire casts failed to ever land a guest spot on an Law & Order franchise episode, right?
My first guess was The X-Files, and I’m wrong. Mitch Pileggi was in a couple of SVU episodes. My second was Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but I’m wrong there too: Michelle Trachtenberg was in an episode as a tiny kid. So, my third and final guess was Angel… and Amy Acker was on an episode of Criminal Intent.
So, can you do better?
Off top of my head, I ELIMINATED a half dozen! (“Wonder Years”, “Boy Meets World”, “Three’s Company”, “8 Simple Rules…”, “Perfect Strangers” (BOTH leads did L&O:CI), “What I Like About You”, “Head of the Class”)
eddie cahill, who played rachel’s assistant turned boyfriend tag jones, was in an episode of svu, but he only appeared in 7 episodes of friends so not sure if that counts
I was gonna say Full House. And I woulda gotten away with it too if it hadn’t been for meddling Bob Saget and his single episode of SVU.
However, I do have one. Blossom! Nary a single person associated with the Law & Order franchise. Ironically, however, David Lascher who played Blossom’s boyfriend in the later seasons was in a TV series called A Family for Joe and that had an episode titled Law and Order.
I thought I had a winner with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and had cleared several of the cast members when I came to Colm Meaney who appeared in a single episode of Criminal Intent. Curses!
Not in the main cast but it gets down to Ileen Getz, who appeared as Dr. Judith Draper in 32 episodes spread out over every season of the shows run. So I think that is disqualified by the OPs rules. She appeared in 1 episode of SVU.
Hot dog, we have a weiner. None of the main cast has ever appeared on any Law & Order show, and neither have some of the most regular guests - including Kelsey Grammer. I’m really surprised. Some of them don’t do a lot of non-Simpsons work, but Hank Azaria does, for example.
