He's playing Bayard Ellis, a defense attorney who's a recurring guest character. As for Chris Meloni: He left on good terms, and has always said he'd love to do a guest appearance as Stabler if asked. But it's not being planned right now.
That's an interesting name. I just noticed that the first three letters of Bayard and the last three letters of Ellis spell out Baylis. When Andre Braugher was on Homicide, his partner's last name was Bayliss. Just a silly observation. Does Munch give him funny looks?
^that's funny. I'll have to check those episodes out. I stopped watching SVU after Meloni left because I didn't really like the new characters.
Any more terrible than a rapper with a song titled "Cop Killer" having a contract role as one of the cops?
^ That's completely different. Music is just music, after all. Side note: Chris Meloni fans might want to check out the new movie 42 that's coming out in a few months. CM plays Leo Durocher.
^ apparently Tyson's character will be central to the episode. Look, I know he served his time and all that, but that doesn't mean SVU has to give him any more screen time than he already has got. And I wonder how Mariska Hargitay can stomach this, given all the work she's done for charity...