Terrence Howard was nominated for an acting Oscar for his role in Hustle & Flow.Terrence Howard was nominated for an acting Oscar for his role in Hustle & Flow. (Chris Pizzello/File/Associated Press)

Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard is joining the cast of the new NBC drama Law & Order: Los Angeles and will rotate with co-star Alfred Molina as deputy district attorney, says series creator Dick Wolf.

"I feel like manager of the 1961 Yankees. I have my Mantle and Maris," Wolf told the Television Critics Association on Friday, referring to famed sluggers Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.

Howard, an Oscar nominee for 2005's Hustle & Flow, has also appeared in the films Iron Man, Crash and Ray. He recently snagged the role of Nelson Mandela in the historical drama Winnie, currently in production in South Africa.

Also joining the cast is Corey Stoll, who will play a police detective. Stoll appears in the new Angelina Jolie film Salt and guest-starred in the original Law & Order. His character is partner to Skeet Ulrich's detective.

The new series, nicknamed LOLA, replaces the original Law & Order series, which was cancelled by NBC after a 20-year run.

"That's business. That's life," Wolf said about the demise of the original series. "Everything on TV is born under a death sentence. They just don't tell you the execution date."