Law & Order Saved From Cancellation
Law & Order was canceled a decade ago. Now, the original series is making a comeback.
This article is more than 2 years old
Back in 2010, when the famous crime procedural show, Law & Order, was all set to be the longest-running primetime drama, NBC unceremoniously canceled it after negotiation attempts for its renewal with TNT fell through. No heed was paid to its popularity, the fact that it had earned more than 50 Emmy nominations (of which it won one), or that the by-default finale episode really didn’t wrap up the storyline for ardent fans of the series that had been airing since 1990. Now, more than eleven years after the beloved show was canceled, NBC has decided to rectify its mistake and is giving a new life to Law & Order with its 21st season.
At the time of its cancellation, series creator Dick Wolf tried his best to find the show’s next season a new home but all his efforts were in vain and he soon confirmed that the series has “moved to the history books.” But eleven and a half years later, NBC is set to reverse its previous decision as reported by Deadline. The new season of the show will continue its original format i.e., the one hour show was divided into two halves, wherein the first half was devoted to the investigation of a crime, committed in New York City, by the police department detectives who then arrested the suspect while the second half saw the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office prosecuting the offender.
“There are very few things in life that are literally dreams come true. This is mine,” Dick Wolf shared.
During its initial run, Law & Order had many long-term regular cast members like Steven Hill as District Attorney Adam Schiff, S. Epatah Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, Sam Waterston as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy, Jerry Orbach as Senior Detective Lennie Briscoe, Elisabeth Röhm as Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn, etc. Even though no actors for Season 21 have been announced yet, it is expected that at least some of the original cast members will be returning to the renewed NBC show. Fingers crossed!
Susan Rover, Chairman of Entertainment Content at NBC Universal Television and Streaming, has shared her excitement over the renewal of Law & Order and “continuing its legacy.” She added that the comeback of the show is great news for NBC as well as the countless fans of the show. As of now, NBC has not provided any reasons for reversing a decision it took more than a decade ago and bringing back the original series in place of the spin-off show, Law & Order: For the Defense, that was recently greenlighted and then canceled. But whatever the reason might be, it is bringing back a beloved show whose renewal has been awaited since its abrupt cancellation. So NBC can be as secretive as it wants to be, we have no complaints there!
While no news about the cast of Season 21 of Law & Order has been confirmed, Rick Eid is returning as the new installment’s writer and showrunner. Dick Wolf along with Eid as well as Wolf Entertainment’s Arthur Forney and Peter Jankowski will serve as executive producers for the new season. The new season will be jointly produced by Universal Television and Wolf Entertainment. Currently, no information has been divulged about when its production is expected to commence nor does the new season have a tentative release date yet.
