“Law & Order” star Mehcad Brooks on working in New York – and with “legend” Mariska Hargitay

He is involved in the case.

Mehcad Brooks, who plays Detective Jalen Shaw on Law & Order, begins his third season on the show as Season 24 premieres on Thursday. October 3rd at 8pm on NBC.

Brooks joined the cast in season 22 when the series returned after its 12-year hiatus.

“I had this childlike reaction,” Brooks, 43, told The Post about his first entry into the show.

“I just fell down a little bit, laid on my back, put my legs up like a kid and did this giddy laugh.”

“It was great, it was a show that I grew up with myself. It was always on in the house,” he added. “It felt like a staple of our home. When I got the call that I would be one of the lead investigators, it was a dream come true.”

Detective Jalen Shaw has solved some difficult cases – in season 23, he saved a man about to jump off a bridge. The man fatally shot a doctor, sparking a case that raised questions about whether racial trauma stress could be used as a defense for murder.

Jalen Shaw initially worked with Frank Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan), but now his partner is Detective Vincent Riley (Reid Scott, “Veep”).

“I draw inspiration from my father, a civil rights attorney who advocates for restorative justice. I think Jalen has that in his DNA,” said Brooks, who is also known for “True Blood” and will join the cast of the “Sex and the City” spinoff “And Just Like That…” in Season 3.

He continued: “I see Jalen as this other version of me. I believe in the multiverse. I think this is New York 2. Jalen lives in New York 2, and I could easily be Jalen if I lived in New York 2.”

Brooks experienced many “New York moments” every day during filming.

“Whether it’s a taxi driver honking during a take and saying, ‘I love you!’ and I’m like, “Thanks, man – that was a lot of money, you just blew that!” Or the fact that we’re in so many different communities in New York and we go into a coffee shop and the barista looks at us and says “How can I help you?” Then they see the badge and do a double-take like, “Wait, wait.” And then they’re in New York 2 for a second. And they kind of freak out.”

Brooks, who is also known for “Mortal Kombat,” said that “Law & Order” Season 24 adapts to the current TV landscape.

“This is the best season,” he explained.

“We keep the connective tissue, the DNA of the show. You will recognize it as “Law & Order.” But it also feels updated and, if I may say so, enhanced. The television landscape has changed and we can benefit from that. Because it used to be enough if people were interested in crime and wanted to know something about crime. Now people want to know who is solving the crime, how much is it costing them, why do they care, what happened in their past and what is their family like?”

He pointed out that favoring “more character-based narratives” could “benefit” the show.

“They put all these people in the control room of this aircraft carrier called Law & Order and it’s our responsibility to turn it 1 degree north. “It keeps the show relevant,” he explained.

On who he works with on the show, Brooks said: “The thing is, it’s so interesting because you see Mariska [Hargitay] And you don’t think of “vintage cars”, but rather “all-timers”. All Timer Legends. She brings this youthful exuberance to every moment she’s in and this wonder, this joy. I achieved a lot just by appearing in scenes with her. She was just a great sounding board from which to reflect things.”

Aside from working with him occasionally, Hargitay “isn’t really around the other guys who have been around a long time.”

“But we’re finding our own way,” he told the Post. “We have very big shoes to fill, but we step into them.”