'Law & Order': Big Update on Show's Upcoming Episode Counts

It's been a long time coming, but episode counts for the upcoming seasons for the Law & Order franchise have been revealed. According to TVLine, all three shows in the long-running legal franchise are set to have 13 episodes for their upcoming seasons. Not only that but if all is on track with the SAG-AFTRA strike, filming could commence as early as the first week of December. Since the actors' strike is still ongoing, it's hard to tell when it could end. It seems like things could wrap up soon, but that all depends on whether or not the contracts are fair enough for both sides to agree on.

Deadline reports that all nine shows in the three Dick Wolf franchises, Law & Order, One Chicago, and FBI, are set to have 13 episodes for their upcoming seasons. The 13-episode order is not a surprise for Law & Order: Organized Crime. It was announced back in April that the newest L&O spinoff would be getting a shorter season. The reason being that producers had a specific plan in mind that worked better with fewer episodes. Coincidentally, 13 is what they had in mind, which is perfect.

10-13 episodes is apparently the target number for scripted shows coming back for the 2023-24 season post-strike. It's not ideal, however, considering it's more expensive due to setting up production and striking it down not long after. Meanwhile, it's possible that some shows could get early renewals for the 2024-25 season. If that happens, seasons could be shot back-to-back so that they could still air during midseason and get back to normal by the fall. What is known, though, is how different scripted shows will be once they return. While fans have been anticipating these shorter seasons, now that it's confirmed and happening, reality is setting in.

Another big change for Law & Order: Organized Crime is that the spinoff found its newest showrunner. Ozark executive producer John Shiban has been tapped as showrunner for the upcoming fourth season. The series has gone through numerous showrunners in just the few years that the show has been on, so hopefully, Shiban taking over will bring some stability to the drama.

Meanwhile, fans should expect most of their favorites from the franchise to appear in fewer episodes due to budget cuts to their episodic guarantees. Aside from the main faces like Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Sam Waterston, and probably a few others, the rest of the casts will be appearing in less episodes. Since there will be fewer episodes, it may not be such a bad thing.