Brand-New ‘Law & Order’ Thursday Lineup Revealed

Thursday nights are for Law & Order on NBC coming up this winter. The network announced its midseason schedule Friday, including the return of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Organized Crime and the successful franchise’s flagship show, Law & Order, revived for the first time in more than a decade.

Special Victims Unit and Organized Crime return on Jan. 6 for the second half of their 23rd and second season, respectively, with the Mariska Hargitay-led SVU returning to its 9 p.m. ET/PT timeslot and Organized Crime airing directly after at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The original Law & Order joins the mix on Feb, 24, anchoring the night at 8 p.m. ET/PT before both of its successful spinoffs.

NBC announced in September that the original Law & Order, which ran for 20 seasons and was nominated for 50 Emmys, would be returning to the network after more than a decade. Speaking about the show’s return to network television, executive producer Dick Wolf explained, “There are very few things in life that are literally dreams come true. This is mine.”

“Law & Order is quite simply one of the most iconic shows in television history, and the idea of continuing its legacy and partnering with Dick on an all-new season is nothing short of exhilarating,” added Susan Rovner, chairman of entertainment content for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, in a statement. “This is great news for NBC as well as TV fans everywhere.”

No premiere date or casting information was announced at the time, but the original Law & Order spawned some of the most memorable characters in the franchise since its September 1990 premiere. The police side of the original series starred the late Jerry Orbach as Det. Lennie Briscoe, Jesse L. Martin as Det. Ed Green, S. Epatha Merkerson as Lt.. Anita Van Buren, Chris Noth as Det. Mike Logan, and Benjamin Bratt as Det. Rey Curtis, among others. On the legal side starred Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy, Jill Hennessy as ADA Claire Kincaid, Angie Harmon as ADA Abbie Cramichael, Elisabeth Rohm as ADA Serena Southerlyn and Alana de la Garza as ADA Connie Rubirosa, among others .