The fourteenth season of Law & Order premiered on September 24, 2003 and concluded on May 19, 2004 on NBC. The season consists of 24 episodes. This is the final season to feature Jerry Orbach as Det. Lennie Briscoe, as the character was transferred to the spin-off Law & Order: Trial by Jury, where he appeared in the first two episodes before his death from prostate cancer on December 28, 2004. In May 2004, it was announced that Dennis Farina would replace Orbach as Detective Joe Fontana in the following season.
Cast
The cast of season 14 remained unchanged from season 13. Jerry Orbach, who had played Lennie Briscoe since 1992, left the series at the end of the 14th season, and would be replaced by Dennis Farina. Orbach would move to the third spin-off, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, and appear in the first two episodes, before his death on December 28, 2004.