'Law & Order: Organized Crime' Makes Behind-the-Scenes Shakeup

The Law & Order shows are used to weathering cast shake-ups, but the franchise was once again hit with a surprising behind-the-scenes change. Law & Order: Organized Crime will have its third different showrunner in three seasons when it returns in Fall 2022. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will also have a new showrunner for Season 24, although that position is still vacant.

Bryan Goluboff, who was a co-executive producer on SVU, will move to Organized Crime as executive producer and showrunner, reports Deadline. He replaces interim showrunner Barry O'Brien, who oversaw the rest of Organized Crime Season 2 after the original showrunner, co-creator Ilene Chaiken, left. Matt Olmstead, a veteran of the One Chicago shows, was the original Organized Crime showrunner but was replaced by Chaiken before production began. O'Brien will stay at Organized Crime as a writer and executive producer.

This is the second showrunner change for the Law & Order franchise in recent weeks. Longtime SVU showrunner Warren Leight said he was leaving the series a second time after wrapping up Season 23. Law & Order franchise mastermind Dick Wolf has not named a replacement for Leight yet.

Gobuloff is a veteran of the Law & Order universe. He joined SVU in Season 13, working alongside Leight and Julie Martin during Leight's first stint on the show. Gobuloff is also an executive producer on the upcoming Spectrum/Paramount Network limited series George and Tammy, starring Michael Shannon as George Jones and Jessica Chastain as Tammy Wynette. Guboloff's other credits include In Treatment, Mr. Mercedes, Smash, and The Affair.

Organized Crime is the youngest Law & Order series. Christopher Meloni returned as Det. Elliot Stabler, who is now a member of the Organized Crime Control Bureau task force. Danielle Mone Truitt plays his boss, Sgt. Ayanna Bell. Ainsley Seiger plays Det. Jet Slootmaekers and Nona Parker Johnson plays Det. Carmen "Nova" Riley. Wolf, Chaiken, and Olmstead are credited as the show's creators.

This is the first L&O series to tell ongoing story arcs instead of featuring single-episode cases. The first season centered on Stabler's efforts to take Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott) down after Wheatley murdered Kathy Stabler. The first Season 2 arc saw Stabler take down an Albanian mob, while the second arc focused on his efforts to take down a group of crooked cops led by Frank Donnelly (Denis Leary). Law & Order: Organized Crime will once again air at 10 p.m. ET on NBC Thursdays, following the Law & Order revival and SVU. Law & Order and OC were renewed for the 2022-2023 season earlier this month.