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Actor Benjamin Bratt is leaving NBC's Dick Wolf drama "Law & Order" at the end of the season, and "Ally McBeal's" Jesse L. Martin is replacing him.

Bratt has been playing Det. Reynaldo Curtis on Studios USA's "Law & Order" for the past four seasons since the departure of actor Chris Noth. In the season finale, to air May 26, Bratt's character, Curtis, chooses to leave the police department to spend more time with his ailing wife.

Bratt is just the latest in many high-profile cast departures on the resilient "Law & Order" over the years. Others include Carrie Lowell, Jill Hennessy and Michael Moriarty. Bratt may return for appearances on "Law & Order" telefilms or the new sex crimes spinoff, now titled "Law & Order: SCU."

Martin, who plays Ally's love interest on Fox's "Ally McBeal," is joining the cast this fall, which will be the tenth season of "Law & Order." Martin was an original cast member of the Broadway hit "Rent," and his other TV credits include "The X-Files," "413 Hope Street" and "New York Undercover." He's repped by Endeavor.