Law & Order: Organized Crime casts Dean Norris in season 4

Law & Order: Organized Crime has had a tough road to get to season 4. The procedural drama has gone through more showrunners than it's had seasons, and the episode count was slashed by NBC well before the writers and actors strike.

That being said, things are looking up for the show. TV Line recently announced that Dean Norris will be added to the season 4 cast, and if that wasn't cool enough by itself, he will play the older brother of Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni).

Dean Norris will play Elliot Stabler's older brother Randall

It was previously confirmed that two of Stabler's siblings would be appearing in season 4, though it was unclear what roles they would play or which actors would be cast to play them. We've now been given insight into both!

Joe Stabler, Jr. is the youngest brother, and the outlet claims that the character spent 15 years in the army before being dishonorably discharged. He currently works for a British wine merchant, and has a complicated relationship with Elliot, who he once considered his hero.

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Norris, however, will play Randall Stabler. Randall left the family at a young age established a career as a successful real estate developer. Like Joe, Jr., he has a tense relationship with Elliot, but unlike the youngest Stabler, he does not consider him a hero. In fact, he still holds a grudge against Elliot over something that transpired with their father.

Organized Crime will mark Norris' first TV role in two years

Norris is best known for is iconic performance as Hank Schrader on Breaking Bad (2008-13), but he's also given memorable supporting turns in Scandal (2012-18), Under the Dome (2013-15), and Claws (2017-22). He most recently played Devon Washington in Nova Vita (2021), meaning Law & Order will be his first TV appearance in over two years.

Despite being a TV veteran Norris has actually never appeared in the Dick Wolf franchise. He has, however, appeared opposite Christopher Meloni in the crime comedy Small Time (2014). Norris also keeps the pattern of casting famous actors as members of the Stabler family.

Ellen Burstyn, an Oscar, Tony, and Emmy winner, played Stabler's mother in a handful of Organized Crime episodes between 2021 and the present. She actually won an Emmy for playing Bernie Stabler on a 2008 episode of Law & Order: SVU.