Law & Order is a media franchise composed of a number of related American television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment. They were originally broadcast on NBC, and all of them deal with some aspect of the criminal justice system. Together, the original series, its various spin-offs, the TV film, and crossover episodes from other shows constitute over 1,000 hours of programming.
Shared characters and fictional organizations, such as Hudson University and the New York Ledger tabloid newspaper, serve as connecting links between the shows. Many supporting characters, such as district attorneys, psychologists, and medical examiners are also shared among the shows. Occasionally, crossovers of main characters or shared storylines between two of the shows will occur. A few major characters have also left the cast of one show within the franchise only to eventually join another. The music, style, and credits of the shows tend to be similar, with the voice-over in the opening of every series performed by Steven Zirnkilton.[1][2] The shows share the iconic "dun, dun" sound effect of a jail cell locking, created, along with the theme songs, by Mike Post.[3] Past episodes of the American series are in syndication with local over-the-air stations, along with cable channels such as USA Network and Bravo (both owned by the franchise's production company, NBCUniversal), TNT, WGN America, Ion Television, and AMC Networks' SundanceTV and WeTV, showing episodes sometimes up to six times a day. Its ubiquity on the NBCUniversal fledgling streaming platform Peacock ("...19 zillion reruns...") was noted by The Wall Street Journal in January 2024.
In October 2012, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit showrunner/executive producer Warren Leight said of the future of the Law & Order franchise, "[Dick Wolf and I] sometimes talk in general terms of where (the franchise) could go. I'm curious to see if there's another iteration somewhere down the line", before adding: "We try hard to maintain a certain level of quality which I think is why the shows sustained in reruns so well. And I'd like to believe there's room for another generation in some way."[4] In February 2015, NBC was purported to have interest in bringing back the flagship Law & Order as a limited series.[5] On September 28, 2021, NBC announced that a 21st season had been ordered.[6]
Seven television series make up the Law & Order franchise: Law & Order, Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent, Trial by Jury, LA, True Crime, and Organized Crime. All series in total amount to 1,371 episodes across 67 seasons of television.
24 seasons, 509 episodes (September 13, 1990 – May 24, 2010; February 24, 2022 – present)
Law & Order, a crime procedural, features both a police investigation of a crime discovered during the cold open, and a prosecution case set forth by the New York County District Attorney, at the Manhattan DA's office. The first thirty minutes of an episode typically features a lead detective trio. On May 14, 2010, NBC announced that it was canceling the original series, although various spin-offs would continue. The series finale aired on May 24, 2010.[7] Wolf briefly attempted to continue the series on cable,[8][9] but the series "moved into the history books".[10]
On September 28, 2021, NBC announced that a 21st season had been ordered.[6] At the start of season 23, the police team consists of Senior Detective Vincent Riley (Reid Scott), Junior Detective Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) and Lieutenant Kate Dixon (Camryn Manheim), while the counterparts on the legal side are: Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy), Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun (Odelya Halevi) and Manhattan District Attorney Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). However, Waterston departed the series during the middle of the season and was replaced by Manhattan District Attorney Nicholas Baxter (Tony Goldwyn).
SVU follows the cases investigated by NYPD Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and her Manhattan Special Victims Unit colleagues. The show's focus is on detectives who investigate sexually based crimes and crimes against children, the elderly, and the disabled. At the start of season twenty-five, these detectives included characters Sgt. Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) and Det. Joe Velasco (Octavio Pisano), while Peter Scanavino co-stars as ADA Dominick Carisi Jr.
Organized Crime follows the cases investigated by former SVU detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) as part of the task force within the Organized Crime Control Bureau headed by Sergeant Ayanna Bell (Danielle Moné Truitt). The show's focus is on detectives who investigate mobsters and other criminal syndicates. On March 31, 2020, NBC ordered a 13-episode season of a then-untitled Special Victims Unit spin-off starring Christopher Meloni as Stabler, now in an NYPD organized crime task force. Meloni had previously starred on SVU from 1999 to 2011.[11] The show's title was confirmed to be Law & Order: Organized Crime. Writer Craig Gore was fired from the series in June following backlash from a social media post.[12] When NBC announced its fall schedule on June 16, Organized Crime was the only new show on the schedule, slotted for Thursdays at 10 p.m. Eastern.[13] Due to filming stoppages related to COVID-19, the season was shortened to eight episodes and premiered on April 1, 2021.[14] At the start of season four, other detectives included characters detective Jet Slootmaekers (Ainsley Seiger) and detective Bobby Reyes (Rick Gonzalez).
Adapted series
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (2024–present)
A Canadian series based on Criminal Intent was announced in early June 2023. On October 16, 2023, the cast names were announced: Aden Young, as Detective Sergeant Henry Graff, Kathleen Munroe as Detective Sergeant Frankie Bateman, Karen Robinson as Inspector Vivienne Holness, K. C. Collins as Deputy Crown Attorney Theo Forrester, Nicola Correia-Damude as Forensic Pathologist Dr. Lucy Da Silva, and Araya Mengesha as tech expert Mark Yohannes. The series will have Canadian talent both in front of and behind the camera, including the writing and production departments. While the show will be part of the Law & Order universe, it has yet to be determined whether any crossovers will occur.[15]
The series first season premiered on 22 February 2024, concluded on 16 May 2024, and consisted of 10 episodes.[16] In June 2024, it was renewed for a second and third season.[17] Production of the second season began in July 2024.
Criminal Intent focuses on high-profile cases investigated by the Major Case Squad. Special attention is given to the actions of the criminals pursued, often including scenes from the victim's or perpetrator's lives not involving the police, thereby providing a hint as to the "criminal intent". The detectives depicted (Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe for the majority of the series, including the final season) will often attempt to infiltrate the mind of the suspect. Julia Ormond and Jay O. Sanders also star in the tenth season of the series. Unique to the franchise, pairs of detectives alternate episodes during seasons 5–8. On July 15, 2011, USA Network co-president Jeff Wachtel confirmed Law & Order: CI would end with its tenth season.[18]
Trial by Jury, starring Bebe Neuwirth, Amy Carlson, and Jerry Orbach, followed the preparation by the legal teams, both prosecution and defense, for a jury trial. This was the first Law & Order spin-off to be canceled due to low ratings. Orbach's death (which occurred while the show was in production) was another factor in the show's cancellation.
Originally titled Law & Order: Los Angeles, LA was the first American Law & Order series set outside of New York City. As with the original series, the first half hour of the show focused on the police investigation of a crime discovered in the cold open; the second half took place at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office and focused on the prosecution of the criminal suspect(s). On May 13, 2011, Law & Order: LA was canceled by NBC after only one season, but its final episode didn't air until July 11, 2011.[19][20][21]
In September 2018, NBC announced that it had given an order of 13 episodes for a new installment of the franchise, titled Law & Order: Hate Crimes, which would be introduced on Law & Order: SVU.[27][28] Later, on March 4, 2019, NBC said that the series would be heading back into redevelopment to flesh out the concept and such an introduction on SVU would not take place.[29] The series was once again touted in 2020 as part of a multi-year contract signed with creator Dick Wolf.[11] The series would likely move to Peacock due to language concerns as of June 2020.[30]
Law & Order: For the Defense
NBC had given a straight-to-series order to Law & Order: For the Defense on May 3, 2021, a new legal drama from creator Wolf that would take a look inside a criminal defense firm. The premise of the ordered series was to put defense attorneys under the microscope, along with the criminal justice system, with every week delivering the promise of a contemporary morality tale.[31] On May 14, NBC announced that the series would premiere during the 2021–22 television season, leading off a trio of Law & Order franchise series on Thursdays in the same manner as the network's Wednesday Chicago grouping.[32] On July 15, multiple trade publications reported that NBC and Wolf had mutually agreed to scrap the series, which had not yet cast any roles, and that a different Law & Order–related program, later revealed as the revival of the original series, was in the works.[33][34]
Media
TV film
The Law & Order franchise has one TV film, Exiled: A Law & Order Movie (1998). Chris Noth reprises his role as Mike Logan, as the film explores what happened to the character following his departure from the original series.
TV special
A TV special titled The Paley Center Presents Law & Order: Before They Were Stars premiered on November 12, 2020, preceding the premiere of SVUseason 22.[35]
Books
The franchise has branched out to books, with novels written by Robert Vaughan (under the pseudonym, Jack Gregory), J. Madison Davis, and William P. Wood.
Law & Order: Dead Line (2002) by J. Madison Davis[39]
Law & Order: Drop Dead (2002) by William P. Wood[40]
Video games
The franchise has also spawned a series of video games for the PC, which feature appearances by then-current cast members of the TV series.
The typical course of most of the games follows the original series' format with the player investigating a crime with interviews of witnesses and examination of evidence. After the arrest is made, the player then prosecutes the case with challenges such as selecting appropriate questions for witnesses on the stand, recognizing improper questions to raise objections and selecting the most persuasive arguments for the judge to allow certain evidence in court.
In the criminal justice system, some killers are so depraved that it takes multiple police agencies to bring them to justice. This is one of those investigations.
Briscoe and Curtis clash with Pembleton and Bayliss, who have come to New York to investigate a subway explosion resembling an unsolved bombing in Baltimore.
Two-part crossover
Law & Order
Homicide: Life on the Street
—
"Baby, It's You" (Law & Order S08E06) (Homicide S06E05)
Falsone and Munch team up with Briscoe and Curtis to investigate the murder of a 14-year-old girl. They trace the suspect from New York back to Baltimore.
Detectives Briscoe and Green assist the 16th precinct when their homicide victim was also a witness in an SVU case. Meanwhile, Detective Stabler seeks the advice from Dr. Olivet regarding his daughter and anorexia.
The detectives of SVU team with the 27th Precinct to investigate a salesman's murder, leading them to a politically influential family. When the case goes to court, McCoy finds the matriarch to be a formidable opponent.
Major Case Detectives Goren and Eames talk to Homicide Detectives Briscoe and Green about a homicide case that may be connected to their cyanide poisoning case.
Detectives Goren and Eames question Lt. Anita Van Buren about a former police officer she wrote a letter of recommendation for who is now a suspect in a string of murders.
Law & Order
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
—
"Tombstone" (Law & Order S15E20) "Skeleton" (Trial by Jury S01E08)
When a celebrity gossip columnist is murdered, Deputy Marshall Mary Shannon's investigation into suspect Frank Chess leads her to Logan and Wheeler in New York.
Following her departure from the Major Case Squad, Joint Task Force Lieutenant Alexandra Eames intercepts the SVU's investigation into sex trafficking when one of the victims is suspected of terrorism.
Chicago detective Erin Lindsay asks the NYPD for help in solving a series of rapes and murders, so Tutuola and Rollins head to Chicago to help Voight and Antonio catch the culprit.
When Firehouse 51 rescues the owner of a house on fire, they find him clutching a suspicious box, so the Intelligence Unit is brought in for further investigation, leading them to work with SVU to take down a child pornography ring.
Three-part crossover
Chicago Fire
Chicago P.D.
Law & Order: SVU
"We Called Her Jellybean" (Chicago Fire S03E21) "The Number of Rats" (Chicago P.D. S02E20) "Daydream Believer" (SVU S16E20)
An apartment fire connected to a case of attempted rape and murder in Chicago resembles an unsolved case in New York, so SVU and Intelligence work together to find the suspect.
Law & Order: SVU
Chicago P.D.
—
"Nationwide Manhunt" (SVU S17E14) "The Song of Gregory William Yates" (Chicago P.D. S03E14)
Chicago detectives come to New York to assist in the hunt for two escaped murderers, one of whom is Greg Yates, who returns to Chicago and commits a triple homicide, so SVU detectives go to Chicago to join in the investigation.
At the request of Sgt. Hank Voight, Defense Attorney Paul Robinette travels to Chicago to defend Officer Kevin Atwater and faces off against ASA Peter Stone, the son of his former colleague Ben Stone.
After traveling to New York to attend his father's funeral, Chicago ASA Peter Stone accepts an offer from Jack McCoy to work for the DA's office. His first case is the prosecution of ADA Rafael Barba.
After an illegal immigrant child is separated from her mother, ADA Stone seeks out the help from his former boss, Chicago State's Attorney Mark Jefferies, to reunite them.
Benson and the squad team up with former Major Case Squad detective Carolyn Barek, who's the new Bronx SVU Lieutenant, when a serial rapist strikes in Manhattan.
Carisi assists Stabler and Ayanna Bell with getting Izak Bekhar to work with them to bring down Richard Wheatley. Benson helps Stabler's children in staging an intervention for Stabler to deal with his PTSD.
Law & Order: SVU
Law & Order: Organized Crime
—
"Trick-Rolled at the Moulin" (SVU S22E013) "An Inferior Product" (Organized Crime S01E05)
Carisi tries Richard Wheatley for the murder of Kathy Stabler while Benson finds herself at odds with a friend when Rafael Barba agrees to take the case.
Amanda Rollins brings Stabler into a case where two girls are raped by two people who are dressed as cops who are suspected to be linked to the Brotherhood.
Guest appearance
Law & Order: SVU
Law & Order: Organized Crime
—
"Bad Things" (SVU S24E21) "Shadowërk" (Organized Crime S03E21) "All Pain Is One Malady" (SVU S24E22) "With Many Names" (Organized Crime S03E22)
When DNA from a Special Victims Unit rape investigation connects to an OCCB unsolved murder, Stabler and Benson uncover a revenge-for-hire scheme on the dark web. Bell and Slootmaekers follow the money trail to expose the website's anonymous creator.
^While neither episode was marketed as an official two part crossover, one overlapping story arc is present in both episodes and part of why characters are crossing over.
The character John Munch, who originated on Homicide: Life on the Street, is notable for either appearing in or being referenced in a wide variety of other series, ranging from appearing in the science fiction series The X-Files, to the sitcom Arrested Development, to being referenced by name in the British crime drama Luther.
Co-created by Kevin Arkadie and Dick Wolf, NYU was implicitly a part of the same universe as the franchise, as psychologist and psychiatrist characters from L&O appeared in the series and there were glimpses of the franchise's fictional newspaper, the New York Ledger.
This series starred Stephanie March as Alexandra Cabot, Anson Mount as Jim Steele, Eric Balfour as Brian Peluso, J. August Richards as Billy Desmond, Milena Govich as Jessica Rossi, Julianne Nicholson as Christina Finn, and Jordan Bridges as Nick Potter. March reprises her role of Cabot originally from SVU and is now the Homicide Bureau Chief ADA. Cabot would return to SVU after this show's end. The series features a larger ensemble cast of young ADAs, with no police, therapists or medical examiners in lead roles. After its cancellation, two of the show's actresses, Milena Govich and Julianne Nicholson, went on to star in Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent respectively as Detectives Nina Cassady and Megan Wheeler.
Foreign adaptations
The franchise, as a result of its popularity, has led to the adaptation of scripts from the American series into foreign-produced series. These are:
Paris Criminal Investigations follows the format of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, adapted to Paris and the French legal system, with detectives from the Prefecture of PoliceDRPJ and the Ministère public attempting to secure a conviction. The series stars Vincent Pérez, Sandrine Rigaux, Jacques Pater, Hélène Godec, Laure Killing, and Audrey Looten. The show is also aired in Germany on ZDF, under the title Law & Order: Paris.
Division of Field Investigations follows the format of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, set in Moscow and adapted to the Russian justice system. The series stars Ivan Oganesyan, Alisa Bogart, Dmitry Brusnikin, Alexander Naumov, Valery Troshin, and Xenia Entelis.
Criminal Intent follows the format of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, set in Moscow and is adapted to the Russian Justice System. The series stars Mikhail Homyakov, Igor Lagutin, Elena Kovalchuk and Boris Mironov.
This unofficial rip-off by Mediacorp Channel 5 follows the format of the original Law & Order series, but changes the setting to Singapore in the 2010s, with detectives from the Singapore Police Force and "the best criminal lawyers in town" who "fight to present the best case in court for the Accused". The series stars Sunny Pang and Fauzie Laily as the detectives and Keagan Kang and Joanne Peh[46] in the legal side. Code of Law also has two spin-off series, a Malay-language series entitled Forensik[47] and an English-language series entitled Derek,[48] and a spin-off movie entitled Derek: The Movie.[49] It also had a prequel, The Pupil, which aired for two seasons of 26 episodes between January 7, 2010 and November 8, 2011, and which in turn was based on the Law & Order spinoff, Conviction.[50]
Most of the American series have been filmed almost entirely in the New York City area.[citation needed] The fictional Hudson University is a recurring location across multiple series in the franchise, based on an amalgam of Columbia University and New York University,[51] with some other colleges appearing as additional filming locations. Hudson University has also appeared less frequently in many other television series and movies, and is a fictional college in the DC universe.[52][53]
The original Law & Order series has filmed a few episodes in the Los Angeles area and Baltimore; these episodes or portions of episodes were set in the cities in which they were filmed and concerned multi-jurisdictional investigations or extradition. Law & Order: LA expanded the franchise to a new main city, the new series' namesake. L&O: LA was canceled after one season.[citation needed]
Effects on casting
With some frequency, actors have appeared on the various series that make up the franchise, usually as different (sometimes very different) characters. This is because filming occurs in the New York City area and thus draws from the same pool of actors. Some prominent examples of the same actor playing different roles in different episodes are:
S. Epatha Merkerson playing a maid whose child was killed in a season 1 episode of the original L&O before joining the cast in season 4 as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren and going on to be the longest-serving cast member of the parent series. Merkerson also plays Sharon Goodwin in the Chicago franchise, which has shared numerous crossovers with SVU.
Camryn Manheim appeared in three episodes of the original L&O in the first, third, and fourth seasons as three different characters before joining the main cast as Lieutenant Kate Dixon in the series' 21st season after being rebooted in 2022.[54]
Diane Neal playing a female rapist in an earlier season of Special Victims Unit before becoming the Assistant District Attorney for that series.
Annabella Sciorra playing a criminal defense attorney in Trial by Jury and later Det. Mike Logan's (Chris Noth) partner in Criminal Intent.
Jerry Orbach playing a defense attorney on the original series before joining it as Det. Lennie Briscoe.
Ice-T playing a pimp known as Seymour Stockton in the franchise's only film, Exiled: A Law & Order Movie, before taking on the role of Tutuola on SVU.
Anthony Anderson playing Detective Lucius Blaine in a seventh-season episode of SVU before playing Bernard on the original Law & Order.
Annie Parisse played an exotic dancer in season 12 before joining the cast as Alexandra Borgia at the start of season 15.
Jeremy Sisto played a defense attorney in the last episode of season 17 before joining the cast as Cyrus Lupo at the start of season 18. Sisto also plays Jubal Valentine in the FBI franchise.
Kelli Giddish played two different characters on Criminal Intent and SVU before joining the show in season 13 as Amanda Rollins.
Raúl Esparza played different characters on Law & Order and Criminal Intent before joining SVU in its 14th season as Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba.
Peter Scanavino played multiple characters in Law & Order, Criminal Intent, Trial by Jury and SVU before joining the cast in season 16 as Dominick Carisi.
Rick Gonzalez played a burglar in a season 1 episode of SVU before joining Organized Crime in season 3 as Detective Bobby Reyes.
Tony Goldwyn played Frank Goren in four episodes of Criminal Intent before joining the cast of Law & Order as D.A. Nicholas Baxter.
Also due to the New York filming, a number of actors appearing in Law & Order shows have had regular or recurring roles on soaps. Most notable is Tamara Tunie, who simultaneously played both medical examiner Melinda Warner on SVU as well as (until 2007) District Attorney Jessica Griffin on As the World Turns. Likewise, New York theater actors have also been frequently cast.
Also as the result of sharing the same pool of New York–based television actors, the series' casts have had significant overlap with that of the former HBO series Oz. This is perhaps most pronounced in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, whose cast has included three regularly credited actors (Christopher Meloni, BD Wong and Dean Winters), as well as two recurring actors (J. K. Simmons and Mike Doyle) who were also regularly credited actors on Oz, also Kathryn Erbe from Oz starring in Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Similarly, Law & Order: UK sees significant overlap with other programs' casts; most prominently series regulars Freema Agyeman and Peter Davison, who starred in Doctor Who as companionMartha Jones and the Fifth Doctor as well as Bradley Walsh who joined the show at the same time as Jodie Whittaker the Thirteenth Doctor as her companion Graham O'Brien.
^ abChris Noth joined the main cast of Criminal Intent following his departure from Law & Order.
^ abcdefghAdditionally, the characters of Mike Logan, Lennie Briscoe, Rey Curtis, Don Cragen and Anita Van Buren appear in the 1998 TV film Exiled: A Law & Order Movie.
^ abDann Florek joined the main cast of SVU following his departure from Law & Order.
^ abJerry Orbach joined the main cast of Trial by Jury following his departure from Law & Order.
^Belzer starred as Detective John Munch in all 122 episodes of Homicide prior to joining the cast of SVU. He also appeared in Homicide: The Movie.
^Richard Brooks left Law & Order after the first three seasons and made guest appearances in "Custody", "Birthright" and "Fear America". In those episodes, Paul Robinette serves as a defense attorney.
^Additionally, the character of Jack McCoy appeared in the 1998 TV film Exiled: A Law & Order Movie.
^Carey Lowell starred in Law & Order in seasons seven to eight and made guest appearances in "Justice" and "School Daze". In those episodes, Jamie Ross serves as a defense attorney.
^ abFred Dalton Thompson starred consecutively in both Law & Order and Law & Order: Trial by Jury.
^ abAlana de la Garza joined the main cast of Law & Order: LA following the cancellation of Law & Order.
^During a four season absence from SVU, March headlined the short-lived Conviction as ADA Cabot.
^The colors represent which series the character appeared in as a main cast member. In the case a character was a main cast member in two series, the color of the one in which they appeared most recently is shown.
^Hargitay has appeared as Benson in all but nine episodes of SVU, missing one episode in Season 6, one in Season 7, five during Season 8, one in Season 10, and one in Season 12.
^After the conclusion of Law & Order in 2010, Waterston made an appearance as McCoy on SVU in 2018. Waterson returned with the resumption of Law & Order in 2022.
^Florek left the cast of Law & Order in 1993. He became an original cast member of SVU in 1999. Florek left the main cast of SVU in January 2014, but returned for guest appearances in May 2015 and October 2021. He made other guest appearances on Organized Crime in 2022 and 2024.
^Belzer originated the Munch character on HLOTS in 1993, before becoming an original cast member of SVU in 1999.
^Belzer left the main cast of SVU in 2014 after appearing sporadically during seasons 11–15. He returned for a guest appearance on SVU in May 2016.
^Meloni left the cast of SVU in 2011, but returned in a lead role on Organized Crime in April 2021.
^Hendrix always appeared as Rodgers in a recurring role and not as a primary cast member.
^After departing Law & Order in 1999, Bratt returned for a guest appearance during the twentieth season in 2009.
^After departing Law & Order in 1993, Brooks returned for guest appearances in seasons 6, 16, and 17, along with an appearance on Chicago Justice in 2017.
^Hennessy's twin sister Jacqueline played Kincaid in one episode in season 6, due to a scheduling conflict.
^Porter-Benson always appeared in a recurring role and not as a primary character.
^Anderson returned to Law & Order with the resumption of the series in 2022, following a 12-year hiatus.
^Fiore always appeared as Profaci in a recurring role and not as a primary cast member.
^Lowell returned to Law & Order for one episode after the resumption of the series in 2022, following a 17-year hiatus.
^Doyle always appeared as O'Halloran in a recurring role and not as a primary cast member.
^de la Fuente always appeared as Morales in a recurring role and not as a primary cast member.
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