Law & Order: Criminal Intent star Vincent D'Onofrio will leave the series at the beginning of the show's upcoming ninth season, USA Network said.

D'Onofrio has been on CI since the show's beginning as a series on NBC, portraying the idiosyncratic Detective Robert Goren. His departure is part of a major casting overhaul on CI next season. Fellow regulars Kathryn Erbe, Eric Bogosian and Julianne Nicholson are also leaving. New mom Nicholson is being replaced by Saffron Burrows.

According to Law & Order creator/executive producer Dick Wolf, D'Onofrio will appear in a two-part opener of season nine that will serve as his hand-off to Jeff Goldblum.

D'Onofrio left the door open to returning on the show for guest-starring stints. For all my loyal 'CI' fans, I wouldn't be surprised if Goren pops up from time to time, he said.