Diane Neal

 Neal first appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as a guest star, playing a rapist in the episode of Season 3 "Ridicule". Neal first appeared as Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak in the show's fifth season and replaced Stephanie March, who played Alexandra Cabot.Neal portrayed Novak through the end of Season 9, when Novak was removed from the show after being sacked by the New York State Bar. In the year 2011, Neal reprised her role as Novak in the Season 12 episode "Reparations" in which Novak returned to SVU as the show's temporary ADA. Following her appearance, she became an ongoing character in Season 13. In Season 13 she was last seen in "Valentine's Day." Neal stated of her return to the show in Season 13 to TV Guide, "It's back on the right track back to what SVU was intended to be about, which is focused on sex-related crimes and crime against children, it's got more of a nitty-gritty feel." Neal says that March's episode as well as her return to the world of the show created a familiarity to viewers following the departure of original cast member Chris Meloni's departure. "I think they should get us in the courtroom together!" Neal says in reference to March.In 2021, Neal starred as Peggy Sue Thomas in the Lifetime film Circle of Deception