At today’s NBC session of the TV critic’s press tour, Law & Order creator Dick Wolf finally closed the casket on his venerable TV show.
Before discussing details about NBC’s newest incarnation, Law & Order: Los Angeles, Wolf spoke about the original series being cancelled after 20 years.
Wolf said, “I can confirm that it has moved into the history books. We were extremely disappointed that Law & Order is not coming back for a record 21st season. But that’s business, that’s life. Everything on television is born under a death sentence, they just don’t tell you the day of execution. The past is the past, and [Law & Order: Los Angeles] is a new show.”
Later, Wolf refused to discuss whether Law & Order was cancelled due to a financial disagreement with the network. He would only say that, “in the 23 years I’ve been continuously on the air, we’ve never failed to make a deal when there was a deal to be made.”
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After the panel, Wolf stressed that it was the end of the original Law & Order series and crushed the idea that there would be a movie to wrap it up.
By all indications, the new show will be closer to the original than the other spin-offs. The cast includes Skeet Ulrich, Corey Stoll, Alfred Molina, and Terrence Howard. Molina won’t be in every episode. Plans are still being shaped up and Law & Order: Los Angeles may include a bit more emphasis on home life than the original did. The opening “ching ching” and title cards will return.
What do you think? Are you sorry to hear that the original Law & Order series is really gone? How would you have wrapped up the 20-year-old TV show? Will you watch the Los Angeles version?
Image courtesy NBC.
One of my favorite characters will be missed, Jack McCoy. The passion he showed every day was untouched by anyone. I did miss when they took him out of the courtroom, but I was gald to see he was still ammajor force in the show. Nothing gets you fired up more then when Jack would go on one of his missions to take someone down, big business, politicians, etc…Angie Harmon and Sam Waterson made a great pair, and would love to see them work together again.
very upsetting. being a navite new yorka i will not watch L&O-LA. in protest!!! lol… i’ll forever watch reruns. CHA-CHING!!
Good!
I’m sorry that Law & Order is cancelled. I was it every day, even reruns. I really like Jack, he gets to the point. Hate to see it go, but still have the reruns.
This was a case of a show that should have ended on a higher note at least seven years ago. Watching the last several years was like watching all the cloned cop shows that are flooding the airwaves. Not that the acting or writing was off, but after 20 years I think they have tackled every problem but World Peace. I’m glad and sad to see you go but I will forever watch seasons 1-12 in reruns.
They took off a class act in order to pollute the airways with even more garbage. Law and Order was intelligent and sharp and anyone who thought at all thoroughly enjoyed it.
I can not believe that they would take off the only class act on television and then pollute the airways with even more garbage than before. Americans are getting so used to low quality in all walks of life but now their television watching is at deaths door. I really wondered how Law and Order stayed on because it was so intelligent and sharp I had a feeling there were not too many people out there giving it a chance. Please rethink this and change the outcome for all of us, who think at all.
The new show is on NBC and I have not watched (and will not watch) anything on NBC since Law and order was cancelled.
Personally I was never into the original Law and Order show but I did get addicted to SVU and I will watch Law and Order LA simply to see how it is. I like cop dramas, and now I kind of wish since Im into them and older then when they originally aired I would’ve watched a few of the originals while it was still on. Well that’s what the internet is for I guess.
No I won’t watch the la show.I just want to know what happens to McCoy and the governor.
I for one will miss L&O, I really didn’t like the Criminal Intent series, the slow, prolonged single note music at the end, and the huge confession drawn out of every criminal, and SVU was good for a while, till it became just like Criminal Intent. The original first decade of L&O was the best, it was so good that it created all these other wanna be’s…..It’s too bad that all things like this must pass on TV, the mature stories, no suspended disbelief, no “vampires”, just good thought provoking writing and great acting. There’s not another series that comes… Read more »
I have and will always be a law and order junkie i can recall the plot to any episode from all 20 seasons just by the opening discovery of the body/crime. i love Jack McCoy and still fully feel that Fred Dalton Thompson would make an awesome president based solely on his role as DA!!! I’m so sad that McCoy didn’t get to fill the full DA shoes that he worked so hard to earn. I think we can all say that NBC is full of *(&% they have been hacking awesome shows right and left. i don’t know how… Read more »
Fred Thompson is nothing at all like his character. If he was I could agree but he’s not fair minded or wise like his character. He’s a dogmatic theocrat.
I’m not sorry to see Law&Order gone,I have not watched it for two years now.I use to love the show but it had gotten political.I refused to watch after about every episode involved returning soliders committing all their crimes.I love THE GOOD WIFE I hope the producers will leave the politics of it.
This is sad
Yes I’ll watch it. I don’t know how to wrap up the original honestly, show them all taking jobs in different parts of the world or something along those lines. Being someone who recently started liking all the Law & Order shows, I can’t wait to hear whats the opening line for each episode for the new one. See who they bring in and the brand new cases. I hope they bring in Anthony Anderson sometime, I really liked him in the original. It’s too bad he came in right towards the end. Yes it really is too bad to… Read more »
How unfortunate and sad ):