ADA Samantha Maroun (Odelya Halevi) is getting the chance to do something she’s wanted to for a long time — that is, be first chair on a case — in the Thursday, April 23, episode of Law & Order (which remains one of the broadcast shows that hasn’t been renewed or canceled for the 2026-2027 season). The only problem? She’s going to be facing off with her mentor, Abigail Donahue (Alanna Ubach), in court after a talented local news reporter is murdered.
Maroun and Abby worked together at the Brooklyn D.A.’s office. “Abby had been there for Maroun since the get-go, since she started and was very green, and she helped her get this job, her dream job really,” Halevi tells TV Insider.
“Alanna and I had this amazing chemistry as just two actors right away, which was amazing, and I love her to death,” she continues. “And we discussed that they probably had more of a personal relationship, friends, not just professional mentor, but life mentor. And so they were really besties. They were very, very close.”
Because of that, it’s “intimidating” for Maroun to face off with her in court “because she knows Abby is a shark,” Halevi explains. “She knows she’s really good at what she does, but she’s professional and she expects Abby to be professional, too. She never played games with her. She never played dirty. She never taught Maroun how to play dirty, so Maroun gets really, really surprised when she has to go to places that she doesn’t want to go to. She has to play the game and see a darker side of Abby that hurts the relationship.”
ADA Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) is out this episode — don’t worry, he’ll be back next week — and so Maroun’s sounding board is District Attorney Nicholas Baxter (Tony Goldwyn), which Halevi enjoyed. Watch a sneak peek above.
“We tap into more of the professional and a little bit personal relationship with Baxter and Maroun. We’ve never done that before,” she explains. “And he really trusts her, which is something that she didn’t really know. Maybe she suspected, but she felt like she had to prove herself this whole time. She had to really show up, fight, to get that respect. Then all of a sudden, it was, ‘Yeah, take first chair.’ And she grabs that opportunity, and she’s really, really happy about it. She’d been waiting for so long to be first chair, and she’s really confident. She even has this phone call with Nolan, and she’s like, ‘I don’t need you. We’ll be OK. I’m OK. I’m ready.'”
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