An 18-year veteran of the NBC procedurals “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: SVU” is leaving the franchise. Deadline.com reports that longtime star Dann Florek, who has become a familiar presence as police Captain Donald Cragen, taped his final episode Friday.

Florek first played the character in the first season of the original “L&O” series, which debuted in fall 1990. Florek left the series after its third season, the report notes, but was brought back in 1998 for a TV movie, “Exiled: A Law & Order Movie." He then joined the “SVU” spinoff when it premiered in 1999.

Florek remained on the job at "SVU" for 15 consecutive seasons.

He previously had a run on NBC’s "L.A. Law," along with a number of guest appearances on shows including "Hill Street Blues" and "21 Jump Street." Florek has also directed a number of "L&O" episodes.

Dann Florek