David Ajala, the British actor who co-starred for three seasons on Star Trek: Discovery as Cleveland “Book” Booker, the love interest of series protagonist Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), has landed his next project. According to the industry trade publication, The Hollywood Reporter, Ajala will join the cast of NBC’s Law & Order as a regular during its new season.
Ajala will portray a detective paired with Reid Scott’s character, Senior Detective Vincent Riley, who himself just joined the cast in 2024 during the season 23 episode, "Freedom of Expression." Law & Order kicked off season 25 on Thursday, Sept. 25, and Ajala’s character will arrive on the scene after several episodes.
Interestingly, Ajala and his former Discovery co-star, Martin-Green, will both be playing cops on screen this fall. Martin-Green will share the spotlight with Donnie Wahlberg in Boston Blue, a spin-off of the long-running series, Blue Bloods. Ernie Hudson, Maggie Lawson, and Gloria Reuben are also in the Boston Blue cast, and the new police procedural will premiere on Friday, Oct. 17, on CBS.
Discovery fans will recall that Burnham (Martin-Green) and Booker (Ajala), after a long and complicated relationship, got their happy ending thanks to the epilogue added to complete the Discovery series finale, “Life, Itself,” following the announcement that the show would conclude with season five. In fact, cast and crew returned to Toronto to shoot the 16-minute epilogue after wrapping what they believed to be the fifth season finale. Much of that epilogue -- or coda or addendum, as those involved with the show have also referred to the 16 minutes -- focused on Burnham and Booker. They’re 30 years older, still together, and the proud parents of a son named Leto (Sawandi Wilson). Burnham is now a Starfleet admiral and Leto is a captain.
“Love prevails, love perseveres through,” Ajala told StarTrek.com in a video in which he and Martin-Green commented on how the extra scenes brought the Burnham-Booker relationship to a satisfying conclusion. “Being able to produce a son who will become a captain is so… It gives me all the feels. It’s so wholesome. And we’re talking about legacy, and passing that legacy forward.”
Also on the way for Ajala is The Woman in Cabin 10, a psychological thriller set to premiere Friday, Oct. 10, on Netflix. The film also stars Keira Knightley, Guy Pearce, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kaya Scodelario, and Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham. The story follows a journalist (Knightley) who witnesses a passenger thrown overboard on a luxury yacht, but with everyone aboard accounted for, none of the other passengers believe her.
Check out The Woman in Cabin 10 trailer (below) and be sure to visit Redshirts Always Die on Facebook and X for more Star Trek content.
Star Trek: Discovery is available to steam on Paramount+.