'Law & Order' Officially Returning to NBC After More Than a Decade
The original Law & Order is making a comeback after 11 years off the air. On Tuesday, Wolf Entertainment announced that a belated Law & Order Season 21 is coming soon to NBC. The series that started the franchise has been off the air since 2010.
Law & Order premiered in 1990 and ran for two decades straight, revolutionizing legal dramas and police procedurals in the process. Today, spinoffs of the series are more prominent - particularly Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. However, the franchise is going back to its roots soon with a revival of the flagship series. According to Wolf Entertainment's press release, the new season will pick up right where it left off in 2010, though it is not clear if all — or any — of the original characters will be back.
"There are very few things in life that are literally dreams come true. This is mine," said series creator Dick Wolf. Wolf was relatively new to the entertainment industry when Law & Order was picked up, and he has continued to dominate the procedural genre ever since.
The revival will be executive produced by Wolf and Rick Eid, who will serve as showrunner and head writer. Other EPs include Arthur Forney and Peter Jankowski. The press release promises "more information including premiere date and casting announcements" coming soon.
The Law & Order revival comes amid some other big moves within the franchise. Actor Chris Meloni returned to SVU earlier this year after several years away, bringing a fan-favorite character back into the fold. Meanwhile, Law & Order: Organized Crime premiered just this year and is so far receiving positive reviews from fans. Another spinoff, Law & Order: Hate Crimes is currently in development.
All of that makes it hard to believe that Law & Order was canceled back in 2010. At the time, SVU was performing better in ratings, and NBC opted to pick up a spinoff called Law & Order: Los Angeles, as well. This left no room in the schedule for the main series, though it was nearly moved to a cable network instead. Both TNT and AMC briefly considered the series before pulling out.
Now, fans who were left heartbroken all those years ago are finally getting some vindication. Law & Order is coming back to NBC in some form, though many questions still remain. Check back here for more updates from Wolf Entertainment as they become available.