The story of Law & Order’s cancellation is becoming more complicated than a long, drawn out lawsuit.
It’s been presumed since January that NBC would pick up Law & Order for a 21st season. NBC’s President of Primetime Entertainment, Angela Bromstad, said I’m a Law & Order junkie… I wouldn’t want to be responsible for not having Law & Order break the [Gunsmoke] record.” Surprisingly, that didn’t happen because the network and studio couldn’t work out an acceptable financial deal with producer Dick Wolf.
TNT has expressed interest in taking over first-run episodes in the past and many thought this was a golden opportunity to do that. Not so. A statement from TNT said that the cable channel wasn’t in talks to pick up the series. Soonafter, NBC announced that the show was indeed cancelled.
Wolf subsequently said that he was still looking for other buyers. Variety reported that NBC execs had scheduled meetings with TNT to take another look at them taking on the show. The accountants were apparently looking at different ways to configure a financial deal that would make sense for both sides. NBC stopped referring to last Monday’s episode as the series finale and started calling it “the finale.”
Now, TNT has released a new statement with a familiar story. According to the LA Times, Turner Broadcasting execs said, “We are not in current talks, and we are not interested in a Season 21.”
It’s not clear if they still aren’t interested and the Variety report about meetings was incorrect or, if they weren’t interested, passed on the new NBC proposal and are, once again, not interested. Either way, the result is still the same. No season 21 of Law & Order on TNT.
Wolf could still be working on finding another home for the venerable cop drama but, because of their rerun licensing agreement, Turner would have to approve any new deal.
As before, if a new home for the series can’t be found, NBC has said they plan to film some sort of wrap up to give closure to the 20 year old TV show.
What do you think? Confused? Do you think this is all just public posturing and the show could still end up with TNT, NBC, or someplace else?
Image courtesy NBC.
I’ve watched every Law & Order episode> I can’t believe that NBC & or TNT don’t care about what the people want. Law & Order was one of the only shows I watched on NBC will at least I can still watch Law & order svu I hope they don’t get rid of that one to.
I just can’t wrap my head around that the original L&O is gone! I loved the show. Bring it back, please. It was really good television with great actors-and the story lines were good. Non of the junk that is on now compares. It is all geared for instant quick hit TV and nothing too sustain it like L&O. I truly hope one of the networks picks up season 21. And what happened too L&O “Criminal Intent” why mess with the right actors for the right show? Jeff is somewhat o.k. yet not quirky enough and his partner she lacks… Read more »
I am extremely upset that they cancelled Law and Order. It was one of the few intelligent shows on TV. Don’t they care about what the fans think?
yes a place where i can let my rage out.. i cant believe they canceled this show and with not so much as an real warning… i soo agree with @lee it is so about the money, hence why if you dont have cable you cant get regular t.v anymore without purchasing a brand new expensive tv or some raggedy and i do mean raggedy converter boxes for the tvs you have in your home, or of course take on another bill(cable, sattelite) for you and your family to pay in this recession!!!!!
Please, someone pick up Law and Order, and run with it for next season. This show is too good to be left behind.
Ditto to most all that has been said. NBC is a joke – how can they be so harmful to themselves. And what’s up with Wolf? Isn’t he making enough money with this show and other spinoffs?
I agree with all your comments. I thought it was a disgusting way to cancel a show that’s made TV history. It was consistent in it format, never became messy by creating story lines between the characters which would turn people off. I started watching Law and Order on TNT. I was hooked. Then I started watching it on NBC and once again I was hooked. I started tuning my TV so I would never miss it. I was very disappointed when I heard on the news that they had canceled the show. If the executives were intending to cancel… Read more »
NBC, and its parent GE, apparently don’t care that they’re driving away viewers.
Perhaps, they feel that they will get a bail out in the coming years, and become “too big to fail”. The excrement that is foisted on us, because it makes money, is annoying, to say the least. I find myself watching less and less entertainment via TV.
The whole ‘show biz’ make-money-or-die quickly mantra is hurting the industry. I imagine that if L&O premiered now, it would be canceled after 13 episodes.
It’s all Jay Leno’s fault. Him & his damn 10 PM show that tanked. (I read that on another message board and found it to be as good an excuse as any, if not better.)
If TNT is going to stubbornly refuse to allow another network to run with new programs, then why doesn’t it show the reruns during prime time, as it formerly did, when I can actually watch them. The network is instead running back-to-back episodes of “Bones”, which I can’t stand; the scheduling, that is (I know nothing about ‘Bones’ but for the annoying commercials). I can’t be alose in the assertion that if TNT is going to reserve its exclusive rights to air reruns, then maybe it should show more of them at times when people who really like the show… Read more »
Yes, indeed. I definitely think this is all just public posturing and the show could end up back on NBC or somewhere else. From the start this has sounded like it was more about power and saving face than it was about ratings. But, it seems like there’s just been too much backlash over this. Maybe I’m naive, but doesn’t public perception have some value to television networks and television executives? It must on some level. And, if response in print and on the net is any indication, the decision to cancel L&O has been wildly unpopular. NBC and its… Read more »
Shame on you NBC!!! I cannot believe that you cancelled this. Not only is it a awesome show that had enough followers to keep it around for many years to come, but everyone I know loves it and watches faithfully.
While I would love to see another season of L & O, I’m not really interested in a farewell movie. A farewell movie just seems anti-climatic, and would benefit NBC far more than either the viewers or the actors.
What I don’t get is why NBC would cancel the show without having a real contender to take its place. It’s not like NBC has a lot of good TV shows, as they did in the 80’s and early 90’s. As it stands now, NBC could end up in worse condition next year.
@ Jeremy — of course they are only interested in the money. Television in America isn’t a public service, it’s a for-profit venture. It’s called capitalism. It’s always about the bottom dollar. Always has been. Always will be. That’s the beauty of private television in the states, versus models such as the BBC and ABC (aus) abroad.
Just proves my point again. The tv executives are just about the money. If their not making money then goodbye. It sux that networks that want to pick up the series just won’t show a little faith and fork up a little more than they want. But ofcourse the original network is cheap too, their not gonna sell the rights for less than they want. So shows just stay up on the shelfs and do nothing. Its not about the fans, not at all. If you don’t believe me just take a look at history. Trauma, Jouneyman, The Listener, My… Read more »