Law & Order (franchise)

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. The shows share the iconic "dun, dun" sound effect of a jail cell locking, created, along with the theme songs, by Mike Post. 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, Warner Bros Discovery's TNT, WGN America, E. W. Scripps Company's network 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 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, " sometimes talk in general terms of where 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." In February 2015, NBC was purported to have interest in bringing back the flagship Law & Order as a limited series. On September 28, 2021, NBC announced that a 21st season had been ordered.

WWW nbc.com/Law_&_Order

Current series

''Law & Order'' (1990–2010; 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. Wolf briefly attempted to continue the series on cable, but the series "moved into the history books".
On September 28, 2021, NBC announced that a 21st season had been ordered. At the start of season 25, the police team consists of Senior Detective Vincent Riley, and Lieutenant Jessica Brady, while the counterparts on the legal side are: Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price, Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun and Manhattan District Attorney Nicolas Baxter

''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (1999–present)

SVU follows the cases investigated by NYPD Captain Olivia Benson 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-seven, these detectives included characters Sgt. Odafin Tutuola, Det. Joe Velasco, Det. Terry Bruno, Capt. Renee Curry and Sgt. Amanda Rollins, while Peter Scanavino co-stars as ADA Dominick Carisi Jr.

''Law & Order: Organized Crime'' (2021–present)

Organized Crime follows the cases investigated by former SVU detective Elliot Stabler as part of the task force within the Organized Crime Control Bureau headed by Sergeant Ayanna Bell. 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. 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. 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. Due to filming stoppages related to COVID-19, the season was shortened to eight episodes and premiered on April 1, 2021. At the start of season four, other detectives included characters detective Jet Slootmaekers and detective Bobby Reyes.

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.
The series first season premiered on 22 February 2024, concluded on 16 May 2024, and consisted of 10 episodes. In June 2024, it was renewed for a second and third season. Production of the second season began in July 2024.

Past series

''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2001–2011)

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 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.

''Law & Order: Trial by Jury'' (2005–2006)

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 was another factor in the show's cancellation.

''Law & Order: LA'' (2010–2011)

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. 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.

''Law & Order True Crime'' (2017)

In April 2016, Wolf and NBC announced they were working on True Crime, a scripted anthology series that will follow one significant true-to-life case per season. Season one, titled Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders stars Edie Falco as Leslie Abramson, Gaston Villanueva and Gus Halper as Lyle and Erik Menendez. It premiered on September 26, 2017, and concluded its first season on November 14. The series is currently on hiatus.

In development / unproduced series

''Law & Order: Hate Crimes''

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. 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. The series was once again touted in 2020 as part of a multi-year contract signed with creator Dick Wolf. The series would likely move to Peacock due to language concerns as of June 2020.

''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. 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. 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.

Media

TV film

The Law & Order franchise has one TV film, Exiled: A Law & Order Movie. 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

To commemorate the 21st season of SVU, the television special The Paley Center Salutes Law & Order: SVU was ordered and produced to celebrate the record breaking season and endurance and cultural significance of the show.
Another TV special titled The Paley Center Presents Law & Order: Before They Were Stars premiered on November 12, 2020, preceding the premiere of SVU season 22.

Books

The franchise has branched out to books, with novels written by Robert Vaughan, J. Madison Davis, and William P. Wood.

Law & Order: In Deep by Jack Gregory
Law & Order: Black Out by Jack Gregory
Law & Order: Dead End by Jack Gregory
Law & Order: Dead Line by J. Madison Davis
Law & Order: Drop Dead by William P. Wood

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.

Crossovers

The following table lists all the crossover stories in the Law & Order franchise.

John Munch crossovers

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.

Other related series

New York Undercover
Deadline
''Conviction''

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 enquêtes criminelles
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 Police DRPJ 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.
Закон и Порядок. Отдел оперативных расследований
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.
Закон и Порядок. Преступный умысел
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.
Law & Order: UK
UK follows the format of the original Law & Order show but adapts it to the new setting of London, with detectives from the Metropolitan Police CID and the Crown Prosecution Service attempting to secure a conviction. The series stars Bradley Walsh, Jamie Bamber, Harriet Walter, Ben Daniels, Freema Agyeman, Bill Paterson, Paul Nicholls, Dominic Rowan, Georgia Taylor, Peter Davison, Sharon Small, Paterson Joseph, and Ben Bailey Smith.
Code of Law
An unofficial adaptation 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 in the legal side. Code of Law also has two spin-off series, a Malay-language series entitled Forensik and an English-language series entitled Derek, and a spin-off movie entitled Derek: The Movie. 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.

Series timeline

Location

Setting

Most of the American series have been filmed almost entirely in the New York City area. 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, 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.
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.

Effects on casting

With some frequency, actors have appeared on the various series that make up the franchise, usually as 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 second 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.
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. Carolyn Barek, Det. Mike Logan's 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.
Jim Gaffigan, better known for his stand-up comedy routines which sometimes mention life in his family's New York City apartment, has appeared in five episodes of the franchise. In the original series as person of interest George Rozakis and murder suspect Larry Johnson. In the SVU series he played Oliver Tunney, a kidnapping suspect, and he appeared twice in Criminal Intent, shady crematorium operator Russel Matthews and corrupt FDA official Marty Palin.

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 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, as well as two recurring actors 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 companion Martha 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.

Characters in the franchise

Episode count

Episode count current as of December 2024

Character	Primary series	Episodes	Law & Order franchise	Episodes	Law & Order universe	Episodes	Total appearances	First appearance	Last appearance
Olivia Benson	SVU	550	• L&O • TBJ • OC	• 6 • 1 • 13	• Chicago P.D. • Chicago Fire	• 3 • 1	574	1999	present
Fin Tutuola	SVU	499	• L&O • OC	• 1 • 2	Chicago P.D.	3	505	2000	present
Jack McCoy	L&O	405	• SVU • TBJ	• 4 • 2	Homicide	2	413	1994	present
Anita Van Buren	L&O	388	• CI • TBJ	• 1 • 1	None	0	390	1993	2010
Donald Cragen	• L&O • SVU	• 69 • 308	OC	4	None	0	383	1990	2024
John Munch	SVU	242	• L&O • TBJ	• 4 • 1	• Homicide • The Wire • The Beat	• 119 • 1 • 1	368	1993	2016
Elliot Stabler	• SVU • OC	• 278 • 66	• L&O • TBJ	• 3 • 1	None	0	348	1999	present
Lennie Briscoe	L&O	273	• SVU • CI • TBJ	• 3 • 1 • 2	Homicide	3	282	1992	2004
Elizabeth Rodgers	• L&O • CI	• 143 • 110	• SVU • TBJ	• 9 • 1	None	0	263	1992	2011
Amanda Rollins	SVU	246	• OC • L&O	• 4 • 1	• Chicago P.D. • Chicago Fire	• 2 • 1	254	2011	2023
Adam Schiff	L&O	228	SVU	1	None	0	229	1990	2000
Ed Green	L&O	198	• SVU • CI • TBJ	• 2 • 1 • 1	Andy Barker, P.I.	1	203	1999	2008
Dominick Carisi Jr.	SVU	198	• OC • L&O	• 3 • 1	Chicago P.D.	1	203	2016	present
Melinda Warner	SVU	173	TBJ OC	1 1	Chicago Fire	1	177	2000	present
Mike Logan	• L&O • CI	• 111 • 36	None	0	Homicide	1	148	1990	2008
Alexandra Eames	CI	142	SVU	2	None	0	144	2001	2013
George Huang	SVU	143	None	0	None	0	143	2001	2015
Arthur Branch	• L&O • TBJ	• 116 • 13	• SVU • CI	• 11 • 1	Conviction	1	142	2002	2007
Robert Goren	CI	133	None	0	None	0	141	2001	2011
James Deakins	CI	111	None	0	None	0	111	2001	2006
Ron Carver	CI	111	None	0	None	0	111	2001	2006
Alexandra Cabot	SVU	97	None	0	Conviction	13	110	2000	2018
Casey Novak	SVU	105	TBJ	1	None	0	106	2003	2012
Rey Curtis	L&O	95	None	0	Homicide	3	98	1995	2009
Connie Rubirosa	L&O	85	• LA • SVU	• 8 • 1	None	0	94	2006	2014
Nick Amaro	SVU	91	None	0	Chicago P.D.	2	93	2011	2021
Rafael Barba	SVU	88	OC	1	None	0	89	2012	2022
Benjamin Stone	L&O	88	None	0	None	0	88	1990	1994
Serena Southerlyn	L&O	85	None	0	None	0	85	2001	2005
Abbie Carmichael	L&O	72	SVU	6	None	0	78	1998	2001
Elizabeth Olivet	L&O	67	• SVU • CI • TBJ	• 6 • 1 • 1	NY Undercover	1	76	1991	2018
Paul Robinette	L&O	69	None	0	Chicago Justice	1	70	1990	2017
Claire Kincaid	L&O	69	None	0	Homicide	1	70	1993	1996
Michael Cutter	L&O	63	SVU	4	None	0	67	2008	2012
Noah Porter-Benson	SVU	65	OC	2	None	0	67	2014	present
Cyrus Lupo	L&O	63	None	0	None	0	63	2008	2010
Danny Ross	CI	61	None	0	None	0	61	2006	2010
Kevin Bernard	L&O	60	None	0	None	0	60	2008	2022
Ayanna Bell	OC	52	SVU	4	None	0	56	2021	present
Jet Slootmaekers	OC	52	• SVU • L&O	• 3 • 1	None	0	56	2021	present
Tony Profaci	L&O	53	None	0	None	0	53	1990	1998
Jamie Ross	L&O	50	TBJ	2	Homicide	1	53	1996	2022
Ryan O'Halloran	SVU	53	None	0	None	0	53	2003	2009
Ronnie Brooks	UK	53	None	0	None	0	53	2009	2014
Emil Skoda	L&O	44	• SVU • CI	• 6 • 1	NY Undercover	1	52	1997	2010
Ruben Morales	SVU	52	None	0	None	0	52	2002	2011