Detective Zach Nichols arrived at the Major Case Squad this year, on his first case he arrived at the scene carrying some bags of food and eating some deli food which initially didn't leave a good impression on his partner, Detective Wheeler.
After the events of September the 11th, Nichols left the force to think about his life and according to Captain Ross he sent him a postcard from Cleveland once. Nichols comes from a prestigious background, his parents are both prominant psychologists and wanted their son to follow in their footsteps. However, Nichols rebelled against them and became a police officer instead, his relationship with his parents isn't a good one and he hasn't spoken to his father in over 10 years despite him living within the city but still respects his father's brilliance.
Nichols has an uncanny way of leaving mid-way during a case to reflect by either visiting an old childhood school or the cinema to see a classic movie and although him and Captain Ross were partners, their relationship is sometimes strained. Recently the actor commented about his characters relationship with Ross, and stated that his characters unconventional methods often unsettle his former partner.
Detective Nichols is an excellant pianist and likes to play at any given opportunity, when asked by Wheeler on their first case together, why he didn't pursue music instead of catching criminals, he responded by saying that he liked this job better.
Nichols has previously been married and has a daughter, in one episode he states that his wife had problems with his career choice.
Although his approach to a crime scene is different, Nichols is as skilled as Goren at manipulating a suspect and even lies to them in order to either get them to confess or negotiate them out of a hostage situation. Nichols is very kind and apologetic towards his partners situation with her life, and often has a sardonic sense of humour about it, although him and Ross didn't notice she was going into labour though in one episode and it was left up to Eames, who was at Major Case without Goren at the time to take her to the hospital-she also scolded both of them for not noticing.
In the next season it is rumoured that we are going to see some romance for the character, whether this is true remains to be seen.
Jeff Goldblum will be taking on the lead detective role when Vincent D'Onofrio's Detective Goren leaves the series as a regular cast member during the first two episodes of the season, when the cast all work together. It has been confirmed that British actress, Saffron Burrows will be his partner, Serena Stevens and that they will be taking over the show as lead characters along with their new Captain, Zoë Callas.
Trivia and Statistics:
*Full Name: Zachary Nichols
*Height: 6ft 4 1/2 ins
*Alma Mater: Emerson Academy
*Rank: Senior Detective
*Status: Single (divorced)
* Seems to like jotting down notes when surveying a crime scene.
Link to Ross Page