Zack Nichols

Zachary Nichols is a fictional character, portrayed by Jeff Goldblum, featured in the NBC–USA Network series Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Det. Zack Nichols
Law & Order character
In the eighth season episode "Major Case"
First appearance"Rock Star"
Last appearance"Three-In-One"
Portrayed byJeff Goldblum
In-universe information
FamilyDr. Theodore Nichols (father)
Unnamed mother (deceased)
Unnamed brother
Rita (cousin)
PartnerDanny Ross (offscreen)
Megan Wheeler
Serena Stevens
Seasons8, 9

Nichols is a police detective with the NYPD Manhattan Major Case Squad. He was introduced in the shows' eighth season to replace Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth). During that season he and his partner Detective Megan Wheeler (Julianne Nicholson) were featured in half the episodes shown, alternating with Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) and Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe); the next year, during the show's ninth season, he and his new partner Serena Stevens (Saffron Burrows) were the only detectives featured. Neither Nichols nor Stevens returned for the tenth and final season of Law And Order Criminal Intent however, their characters were not specifically written out or addressed in any way during the final season.

Career

Detective Nichols was once partnered with Captain Danny Ross (Eric Bogosian) in the NYPD's Anti-Crime task force. However, after the 9/11 attacks, Nichols left the police force for seven years. Ross remarked that during this period, his only clue to Nichols' whereabouts was a postcard from Cleveland.[1]

Detective Eames begins partnering with Nichols after Nichols' partner, Megan Wheeler (Julianne Nicholson), went into labor and gave birth. Together they investigate Henry Muller (Dylan Baker), a forensics scientist with the NYPD who murdered a teenage girl. Nichols' investigation of Muller, who has clout from within the department, puts Nichols’ career in jeopardy and causes conflict between him and Ross, who comments that he himself risked being suspended almost every month while he and Nichols were partners due to the latter's unconventional, risk-taking behavior. Nichols ultimately gets Muller to confess, however, getting himself and Ross back into the NYPD’s good graces.[2]

Nichols becomes full-time partners with Detective Serena Stevens (Saffron Burrows), who is introduced in the second part of the two-part Season 9 premiere episode "Loyalty". Both detectives work under the command of Captain Zoe Callas (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) during this season, after Ross is killed while taking part in an FBI sting operation.[3]

Personal and family life

Nichols is the child of two psychiatrists, but shunned their profession; becoming a police officer was a form of rebellion.[4] Nichols and his father, Dr. Theodore Nichols (F. Murray Abraham), do not speak for years afterward. They reconcile when Nichols asks his father for assistance with a murder investigation involving a suspect with dissociative identity disorder, which happens to be the elder Nichols' specialty.[5] Nichols also mentions having an older brother although the character is not shown.[6]

Nichols attended a public grade school,[7] but as a teenager went to Emerson Academy, an exclusive preparatory school. There, he learned to play piano.[8] He also had a relationship with a young woman named Lenore Abrigaille (Mili Avital) that ended when she descended into mental illness.[7]

Awards and decorations

The following are the medals and service awards worn by Detective Nichols.

American Flag Breast Bar
World Trade Center Breast Bar
NYPD Excellent Police Duty
NYPD Unit Citation

References
  1. "Rock Star". Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Season 8. Episode 2. April 26, 2009. NBC.
  2. "Major Case". Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Season 8. Episode 14. July 26, 2009. NBC.
  3. "Loyalty (1)". Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Season 9. Episode 1. March 20, 2010. NBC.
  4. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent Character Profile, Det. Zack Nichols". Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  5. "Three-in-One". Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Season 9. Episode 16. July 6, 2010. NBC.
  6. "Abel & Willing". Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Season 9. Episode 6. May 4, 2010. NBC.
  7. "Palimpsest". Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Season 9. Episode 14. June 29, 2010. NBC.
  8. "Salome in Manhattan". Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Season 8. Episode 10. June 28, 2009. NBC.
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