"Pride" is the 111th episode of the NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 crime drama Law & Order

Law & Order

Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...

. It marked Chris Noth

Chris Noth

Christopher David "Chris" Noth is an American actor. He is known for long-running television roles as Det. Mike Logan on the police procedural and legal drama television series, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and as Big on Sex and the City. For the latter role, he has been...

's departure from the series.

Plot

The murder of a gay city councilman leads to an investigation of corruption and homophobia

Homophobia

Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...

 in City Hall that strikes a chord with Logan

Mike Logan (Law & Order)

Michael "Mike" Logan is a fictional character in the police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order franchise, played by Chris Noth.-History in the franchise:...

 — so much so that it may cost him his job.

Inspiration

The episode was inspired by the 1978 assassination of San Francisco city councilman Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk

Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...

, the first openly gay politician to serve in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Cast

• Jerry Orbach
  Jerry Orbach
  Jerome Bernard "Jerry" Orbach was an American actor and singer. He was well known for his starring role as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the Law & Order television series and as the voice of Lumière in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As well, Orbach was a noted musical theatre star...
  
   as Detective Lennie Briscoe
  Lennie Briscoe
  Leonard W. "Lennie" Briscoe is a fictional character on NBC's long running police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order. He was featured on the show for 12 seasons, from 1992 to 2004. He was created by Walon Green and René Balcer, and was portrayed by Jerry Orbach...
  
  
• Chris Noth
  Chris Noth
  Christopher David "Chris" Noth is an American actor. He is known for long-running television roles as Det. Mike Logan on the police procedural and legal drama television series, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and as Big on Sex and the City. For the latter role, he has been...
  
   as Detective Mike Logan
  Mike Logan (Law & Order)
  Michael "Mike" Logan is a fictional character in the police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order franchise, played by Chris Noth.-History in the franchise:...
  
  
• S. Epatha Merkerson
  S. Epatha Merkerson
  S. Epatha Merkerson is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has won a Golden Globe, Emmy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Obie Award and four NAACP Image Awards. She has also received two Tony Award nominations...
  
   as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
  Anita Van Buren
  Lt. Anita Van Buren is a fictional character on NBC's long running police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order, portrayed by S. Epatha Merkerson. By episode count, she is the longest-running character on the show...
  
  
• Sam Waterston
  Sam Waterston
  Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy...
  
   as EADA Jack McCoy
  Jack McCoy
  John James "Jack" McCoy is a fictional character in the television drama Law & Order, created by Michael S. Chernuchin and played by Sam Waterston since 1994. He is the second-longest tenured character on the show, after Lt. Anita Van Buren . On January 28, 2009, McCoy's character ended the longest...
  
  
• Jill Hennessy
  Jill Hennessy
  Jillian Noel "Jill" Hennessy is a Canadian actress and musician known for her television roles on Law & Order and Crossing Jordan.-Early life:...
  
   as ADA Claire Kincaid
  Claire Kincaid
  Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid is a fictional character on the television series Law & Order, played by Jill Hennessy from 1993 to 1996.-Character overview:...
  
  
• Steven Hill
  Steven Hill
  Steven Hill is an American film and television actor. His two better-known roles are District Attorney Adam Schiff on the NBC TV drama series Law & Order, whom he portrayed for ten seasons , and Dan Briggs, the original team leader of the Impossible Missions Force on CBS's television series...
  
   as DA Adam Schiff
  Adam Schiff (Law & Order)
  Adam Schiff is a fictional character on the TV drama series Law & Order. He was played by Steven Hill from 1990 to 2000. Schiff was one of the main characters of the series and appeared in every episode of the first ten seasons except for Everybody's Favorite Bagman, which was produced before Hill...