Both Law & Order and Law & Order: Organized Crime will be back for new seasons. NBC has renewed Law & Order for a 22nd season and spinoff Organized Crime for a third season.
The renewals are not unexpected as both series were expected to continue.
NBC previously renewed Law & Order: SVU as part of a three-year renewal for what will be its 24th season, extending its record as the longest-running primetime live-action series of all time, and making it three-for-three for the Dick Wolf series.
Law & Order was revived for a 21st season last year, eleven and a half years after it was abruptly canceled by NBC.
The renewals mean that Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television have six series from the venerable creator renewed at the network; Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and Chicago Med were handed three-year renewals at the same time as SVU. Wolf and UTV also recently scored two season renewals for FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International at CBS.
Both Law & Order: SVU and Organized Crime underwent recent showrunner changes. Earlier this month, Warren Leight exited SVU after serving as an executive producer and showrunner on the crime drama for the past three seasons. It was his second stint at the helm of the Wolf Entertainment series. Ilene Chaiken exited as showrunner of Organized Crime in February and was replaced by Barry O’Brien for the remainder of the season.
“The iconic Law & Order brand has long been synonymous with NBC and we couldn’t be more excited to bring back all three of these dramas for the 2022-23 season,” said Lisa Katz, President, Scripted Programming, NBCU Entertainment and Streaming. “It’s a testament to the brilliance of Dick Wolf’s storytelling that audiences remain compelled by these unforgettable characters week after week, year after year.”
Since Law & Order returned in February 2022, NBC has ranked #1 on Thursday nights in the 18-49 demo with its all Law & Order franchise lineup. Law & Order: Organized Crime is #1 in its 10 pm Thursday timeslot in the 18-49 demo and all key adult demos.
“Dreams do come true,” said executive producer Dick Wolf. “The renewals of the entire Wednesday and Thursday night lineups is the ultimate verification of our partnership with NBC and Universal Television. I personally want to thank the talented writers and casts, the producers who keep the trains running on time and the crews who tirelessly turn out outstanding shows despite a degree of difficulty never before experienced due to the pandemic.”
The new installment of Law & Order, from Dick Wolf and writer-showrunner Rick Eid, continues the classic bifurcated format and once again examines “The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.”
Sam Waterston, Anthony Anderson, Jeffrey Donovan, Camryn Manheim, Hugh Dancy and Odelya Halevi star.
Law & Order is produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. Wolf, Eid, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski are executive producers.
Law & Order: Organized Crime brought SVU‘s Christopher Meloni’s Elliot Stabler character back to the fold in the NYPD organized crime unit. The series follows the detectives of the Organized Crime Control Bureau as they work to dismantle New York City’s most vicious and violent illegal enterprises.
Danielle Moné Truitt stars as Stabler’s sergeant and partner, Ayanna Bell, along with Ainsley Seiger and Nona Parker Johnson.
The series was created by Wolf, who executive produces along with showrunner Barry O’Brien, Terry Miller, Fred Berner, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski.