Get out your hammers and handcuffs: “Law & Order” is back for its 24th season – and of course, the show remains as captivating as ever!

Last season ended with a new district attorney about to be chosen following the departure of veteran Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). In the meantime, fans are eager to know who’s new, who’s coming back, and what next season will feel like.

Perhaps surprisingly, showrunner Rick Eid has said that the series will get a little more personal. “Something we’re kind of emphasizing this year is trying to learn more about some of our characters,” he told NBC Insider. “It’s still Dick Wolf’s ‘Law & Order’ and there are still compelling, current issues every week and ethical and moral dilemmas every week, but we try to dig a little bit deeper into our people on certain episodes and see how their personal lives intersect with their professional lives.”

So let’s get a little more personal with the detectives and lawyers who will be fighting the criminals of New York City this season!

Maura Tierney (Lieutenant Jessica Brady)

Newcomer – at least to the franchise – Tierney is now in charge of the 27th Precinct’s detectives. She takes over from Lieutenant Kate Dixon (Camryn Manheim), who was at the helm for three seasons. Eid noted to NBC Insider that Brady may be in charge, but will still “think and act like a detective” and will be more involved in the cases, rather than just supervising.

He added that she has an “almost photographic memory” and is quick to notice little quirks about people, although it is not yet clear where she developed her unique skills. And the detectives under her charge don’t necessarily get along with her as well as they do with Dixon. “It’s a bit unsettling when a new boss comes in who they don’t know, and they don’t really like bosses,” Eid explained.

Tierney stopped by on October 11 during the third hour of TODAY to talk about her new role, which is also her first as a police officer.

‘She’s not very charming. I usually play warmer people,” she said of Brady.

“She doesn’t really care if anyone likes her,” Tierney added.

Her character also shared an intense scene in the second episode with Mariska Hargitay star Captain Olivia Benson, who made the crossing and witnessed the defense.

Tierney said it was “great” to work with Hargitay.

“It was really nice for her to come over. … She has a really great, warm personality,” she explained, adding, “Everyone is happy when Olivia comes over.”

Tierney also appreciated their characters’ tense scene.

“It’s fun that the characters… we’re kind of pitted against each other,” she said. “I think both of our arguments are correct. So it’s an interesting scene: there’s no real right or wrong.”

Tony Goldwyn (District Attorney Nicholas Baxter)

There’s a new man at the helm of the DA’s office, now that Baxter has won the election and stepped into McCoy’s shoes. The end of last season was dominated by the disruption of his marriage, the difficult election and the fact that he was almost shot. That’s a lot for a prosecutor to handle, and things aren’t likely to get any easier. He will likely have more verbal confrontations with his subordinate, EADA Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy), and have to answer for the apparently politically motivated choices he sometimes makes.

Hugh Dancy (Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price)

Price may not always get along with his new boss, but he remains responsible for the bigger things at One Hogan Place. As the new season begins, the two are getting along better, but expect continued sparks and friction.

“Nick Baxter is a little different than McCoy’s character, and the relationship between McCoy and Price is different than Baxter and Price,” Eid told NBC Insider. “Baxter is a little more political, a little more opaque, so you don’t always know where he’s coming from, so that’s a little more complicated from Price’s perspective.”

Odelya Halevi (Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun)

Maroun returns to her subordinate role in a shaken office, where Baxter is now in charge. Halevi told NBC Insider that she brings “empathy,” which gives her a unique “power” to the role. But that empathy can be a problem when she has to keep her distance from a case. In season 23, memories of her parents fleeing Lebanon caused her to hesitate during a case, leading Price to demand that she resign, or rise to the occasion. Her troubled history also includes a sister who was abused and murdered, a past she brought up in the season 24 premiere during a similar case.

Mehcad Brooks (Detective Jalen Shaw)

Shaw is tough but tender, a detective who has been around for a while and knows how best to get the information he needs to solve a case. He also has a law degree and worked in practice for a few years before joining the police force. Shaw began his police work in the narcotics department before becoming a homicide detective. He first appeared in the “L&O” offshoot “Organized Crime” as part of an unprecedented crossover event with both shows and “Law & Order: SVU” as a detective in the 32nd Precinct before transferring to the 27th.

Last season, he got a new partner in Detective Vincent Riley (Reid Scott), and the two became a true “odd couple,” he told NBC Insider.

“We want the same things, but we come from such different worlds and different perspectives that it creates a lot of comedy,” he said, adding: “It does create an amiable conflict.”

Reid Scott (Detective Vincent Riley)

Brooks and Riley have camaraderie, but also two different personalities. When he joined the 2-7 last season, he was returning from a suspension after punching a police captain. (In his defense, he defended Lt. Dixon after the captain had some nice words for her.) He has had to deal with a dying father, a dying marriage and a growing drinking problem on the job. Dixon empathized with his struggle and helped him find a new home in the district.

In the new season, fans will meet Riley’s brother, played by “Blacklist” and “New Amsterdam” veteran Ryan Eggold, NBC Insider reported.