Anita Van Buren

Anita Van Buren
Law & Order character
First appearance"Sweeps"
Last appearance"Rubber Room"
Portrayed byS. Epatha Merkerson
In-universe information
FamilyDonald Van Buren (ex-husband)
Ric Van Buren (son)
Stefan Van Buren (son)
Frank Gibson (fiancée)
Unnamed sister
Seasons4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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. The character of Van Buren was an "authoritative lieutenant"[1] in the New York Police Department, who supervised teams of detectives who worked out in the field, and originally served as "commander of the 27th Precinct Detective Squad."[2] The fictional Van Buren achieved the rank of NYPD lieutenant before any actual policewoman in New York did so, creating a "dissonance" with reality.[3] Van Buren appeared in 390 episodes of Law & Order. When she crossed the 300-episode mark in 2008, Lt. Van Buren became the longest-running African-American character in television history.[4]

In 1997, it was noted that "Van Buren was one of the first and is still one of the few female African-American characters in network television to hold a position of power standing over the desks of white professional men telling them how to do their jobs."[5] The Associated Press once described Van Buren as a character with typically "limited screen time...whose practical function is to point her detectives in the story's next direction."[6] After many years on the procedural drama, Merkerson was "rewarded with a personal crisis for her character—a life-threatening bout with cervical cancer—that gave her some fine, if fleeting, opportunities to show Van Buren's rarely glimpsed vulnerability."[7] Van Buren's role in the franchise is considered a precursor to Olivia Benson's centrality in the SVU series.[8]

By episode count, she was the longest-running character on the original show during its original run; Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) surpassed her during its revival. Van Buren appeared in 392 episodes within the franchise (390 of Law & Order, the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Badge" and the Law & Order: Trial by Jury episode "Skeleton") and Exiled: A Law & Order Movie, and is the fifth longest-running regular character in the Law & Order franchise, behind Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Fin Tutuola (Ice-T), McCoy, and Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), and the sixth longest-running character in the Law & Order universe, behind Benson (478 episodes in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Tutuola (456 episodes in SVU), McCoy (408 episodes in the universe, including two in Homicide: Life on the Street), Cragen (400 episodes in the franchise), and John Munch (Richard Belzer) (452 episodes in the universe, including 122 in Homicide: Life on the Street).

TV critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz called the season-five Law & Order character lineup (featuring Van Buren, McCoy, Mike Logan, Lennie Briscoe, Claire Kincaid and Adam Schiff) the single-best character combination in the Law & Order universe, dubbing them "the '27 Yankees of L&O casts, featuring not only Hall of Famers at every position but the very best example of each respective role in the franchise's history."[9] A textbook on management of state and municipal police departments described Anita Van Buren as a "good example of an operational supervisor as a strong leader...Nothing seems to get by her. When [detectives] cross the line of legality, she steps in to put them in their place. The operational supervisor must know their subordinates well; they must be present not only in spirit but in body and mind."[10]

  1. ^ McCann, Bob (2022). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television. McFarland. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-4766-9140-4.
  2. ^ Romanko, Karen A. (2016-03-01). Television's Female Spies and Crimefighters: 600 Characters and Shows, 1950s to the Present. McFarland. pp. 213–214. ISBN 978-1-4766-2415-0.
  3. ^ Leonard, David J.; Robbins, Stephanie Troutman (2021). Race in American Television: Voices and Visions that Shaped a Nation [2 volumes]. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 397. ISBN 978-1-4408-4306-8.
  4. ^ "Star's Law & Order character makes television history". The Daily Oklahoman. 2008-03-19. p. 82. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  5. ^ "S. Epatha Merkerson achieves a position of power on TV". The Baltimore Sun. 1997-03-30. p. 61. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  6. ^ "HBO to air new film 'Lackawanna Blues'". The Ithaca Journal. 2005-02-11. p. 18. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  7. ^ Moore, Frazier (2010-05-20). "Two-decade run for 'Law & Order' cut short". The Daily Journal. Associated Press. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  8. ^ Moorti, Sujata; Cuklanz, Lisa (2016-12-18). All-American TV Crime Drama: Feminism and Identity Politics in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-78673-161-6.
  9. ^ Sepinwall, Alan; Seitz, Matt Zoller (2016). TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time. Grand Central Publishing. pp. n.p. ISBN 978-1-4555-8820-6.
  10. ^ Hein, John F. (2013). Inside Internal Affairs: An In-depth Look at the People, Process & Politics. Looseleaf Law Publications. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-60885-052-5.