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Law & Order and SVU Renewed Through 2026 – Change Is Needed

This past week it was announced that flagship Law & Order’s reboot (going into season 25) and SVU (going into season 27) were renewed through the 2025-26 broadcast TV season. That said, it’s been a rocky run for the Law & Order brand this past season:

Organized Crime: moved to Peacock

Show runner John Shiban departed the show at the end of the 5th season; original show runner and co-creator Matt Olmstead helming the show in post-production.

If renewed a 6th season by Peacock, there will need to be search for a show runner/executive producer prior.

SVU:

David Graziano (whose run has been widely unpopular since season 24, in conjunction with the news of behind the scenes harassment allegations) exited the show at the end of this season. Long–time L&O brand staffers Julie Martin and Norberto Barba to follow; Barba expected to return as a director.

Octavio Pisano and Juliana Martinez (Detectives Velasco and Silva) have also parted ways with the show.

Law & Order:

No immediate changes in cast or crew, but struggling to reach audiences with the same zeal as the original run due to lack of depth in the scripts and the overall series direction.

All the aforementioned in mind, immediate change is going to be needed to maintain the brand’s popularity. Organized Crime being an excellent example, it had undergone six show runners before John Shiban was tapped to take over. He brought stability (no pun intended to the main character’s name) to this show and set it up in a way that it should have been introduced to the audience from day 1. Not to take away anything from the storylines introduced in the earlier seasons of OC, but the writing truly caught on in season 4. Shiban and his staff’s scripts were truly fleshed out and they included the whole OC cast, as well as it weaved it together with extending the Stabler family on-screen. The performances in season 4 and thus far in season 5 continue to show the talent of this cast. I’d even make the argument that both seasons 4 and this season are showcasing some of Christopher Meloni’s best work as Elliot Stabler. Fans across social media and reviews from sources like TV Line, Cinema Blend, and Give Me My Remote even agree with the work that’s been done on Organized Crime as of late. It’s a shame that Shiban has departed the show, his vision is what was/is missing on both OC and the franchise in general.

That said, can that same view be extended over to SVU and the original reboot? It certainly needs to be. I gave a critical review of the franchise back in 2024 where I felt like Organized Crime was leading the franchise creatively, the mother ship reboot was better than when it started, and SVU needed an overhaul; fast forward to over a year later and I genuinely feel the same way. Even with a lot of the same points for both SVU and the flagship reboot. However it could be finally being put into some kind of motion, hopefully. With Graziano being out at SVU, hopefully the show can get back to the premise it had a few seasons back at least, or maybe a step further; Michele Fazekas (former co-executive producer and staff writer, seasons 3-7) will be running the show in the upcoming 27th season. Fazekas not being new to the show will hopefully bring back a spark that has been missing creatively the past few seasons, as well as bring something new to the table now that she is running the show and not simply a staff writer or lower level producer. She can take the series to a different direction than where it’s been going as of late, and that’s down the toilet bowl, to put it bluntly.

Now Graziano’s run hasn’t been totally bad, the most popular parts of his run involved bringing in Kelli Giddish (Amanda Rollins) to guest star, which drives me to a further point; Wolf and NBC letting her go back in season 24 was a big mistake. While Mariska Hargitay will always be the star of the show, you have to admit that Kelli was “runner up” so to speak. She was that secondary female voice of the show behind Mariska/Olivia, and it truly lacked after her departure. Newer female characters were either written in poorly or they never leveled up to the caliber of actress Kelli is or interesting as a character as Amanda is. Or they were meant to be throwaway characters from day one. The turnover in the main cast and recurring cast in the last two and a half seasons is proof of that. Graziano seemed to write the other characters into corners and wrote Benson and Carisi (Peter Scanavino) as polar opposites at times in my opinion. Too much inconsistency. Fazekas has an opportunity to repair the damage that’s been done over the past few seasons, it’d be nice if that included reintroducing Kelli Giddish in a permanent capacity again, but that also is going to require Dick Wolf/NBC and Kelli to come to a new deal.

***UPDATE 5/15/2025, 2:00PM/ET: It was announced via Deadline that Kelli Giddish (Amanda Rollins) will return as a series regular in season 27. ***

But speaking of that damage, she can get the show back to telling the stories how it once did telling the stories of sexual assault victims/survivors, the elderly, crimes against children, etc. while also infusing the personal sides to our favorite characters. The legal side of the series also needs to be in repair again. While the show has evolved a lot of the course of it’s longevity, the legal side of the series seemed to disappear under Graziano’s direction. Peter Scanavino’s ADA Carisi moved to the district attorney’s office in season 21 and the legal side became sort of a view through his eyes in how he’s learned to prosecute cases. However one thing that keeps that portion of the show interesting is the investigative part of the legal system and the law, what goes into prosecuting the offenders as well as tunneling through whatever law or loophole that the defense attorney’s find to defend their clients. Speaking of the defense… where did they go? We stopped seeing the recurring defense attorneys of now both Neal Baer and Warren Leights eras. The defense plays a huge part in the legal part of the show, it’s truly needed and needs to be seriously included. While at times written comical and with throwaway lines, it’s also proven that the fans like the recurring defense attorneys – to name a few: Donna Emmett, Lionel Granger, Arthur Buchanan, Rita Calhoun, Nona Efron - for their wit and the legalese back-and-forth that the prosecutors have with them in and out of court. It makes that part of the show have some interest and it gives those characters some layers, while they aren’t our heroes, they have their voice too. In recent years the defense attorneys seem to be some throw away characters that don’t have any personality other than to yell “objection,” and no zeal to defend their clients.

In addition to that, in the majority of Graziano’s era, Carisi was woefully underutilized; not just on the legal side and in court scenes, but as is concerns Benson and the squad as well. There is only 1 major storyline that I actually stand behind in this era that Graziano partially got right and that is this storyline with Carisi being held hostage in the Deli and seeing it all play out. It’s probably been Scanavino’s greatest performance in the show in a good long while and he deserves his roses (and most definitely an Emmy Award nod) for this.

I could honestly use the same argument above with the flagship Law & Order reboot as well. The police side of the reboot seems to have really fleshed itself out finely. Maura Teirney, Reid Scott, and Mehcad Brooks make you able to keep up with the first half of the episodes and as of late the most interesting parts of it. I just wish they would work on the dialogue back-and-forth when it comes from the characters as it relates to social or political issues. It feels like its forced dialogue to show the writer’s point as opposed to the characters. The dialogue has to be natural, it’s like the writer’s (Rick Eid) can’t help but beat on a “political drum.” Dead blast it! We’re not tuning in to hear political talking points as gospel, that’s what CNN and/or Fox News is for.

Meanwhile as I said about SVU, the legal side on this show needs work too. And I’m going to be blunt, I can watch Hugh Dancy in most anything, but for some reason Sr. ADA Nolan Price is a piece of work, and that’s putting it mildly. It goes back to what I said about the dialogue and what I said last year about fleshing out characters. Now we’ve seen a couple episodes this season that put Dancy’s acting chops on display and it’s more than clear he’s got it: “Catch and Kill,” “The Perfect Man,” “Big Brother,” and “The Hardest Thing” to name a few. But it goes to question, why are the standalone episodes showcasing Dancy/Price better than the other episodes of the season? We’ve got Price’s personal story but, it doesn’t say Bo Didly about who he is as a prosecutor. Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) was “Hang ‘em High McCoy,” Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) was “Boy Scout Ben,” and Michael Cutter (Linus Roache) was young and ambitious to the point of basically trying to fill the shoes of his predecessor – Jack McCoy. Price doesn’t consistently have any one of these qualities and I think it hurts the legal side of this show. After 4 seasons now, who is he as a prosecuting attorney? It seems like it keeps it in a loop literally every episode without much deviation; and that also goes towards the writers as well. Unless Price is going to get into argument with DA Nick Baxter (Tony Goldwyn) every week, the interest is out. Like SVU, we don’t see the legal side do more than “track down the usual suspects” if you will. It’s the same thing week-after-week and somehow these cases majorly get the “guilty” verdict. Price isn’t that good a prosecutor, while yes its television, some of these cases I could see them either not guilty, deadlocked or outright tossed out of court in an actual court of law – which I thought L&O wanted to depict as closely as possible.

On a side note, I can tell in certain scenes where Hugh Dancy is trying to enunciate a lot of his words in his United States English accent versus his British English accent, which I think plays on the delivery part. Legalese isn’t easy to speak quickly in any enunciation, but I can image it’s more difficult strung together in a full monologue like closing arguments, while having to maintain the one accent while trying to stifle another. Perhaps they should have let Price’s background have him from being UK born? Would have made an even more interesting back story I think!

In addition both broadcast L&O shows failed at this next point: Continuity and history. Where were returns from past characters/actors? Other than Kelli Giddish and Christopher Meloni, that is all we’ve seen repeatedly on SVU since S24. No one has returned to the mother ship since Jamie Ross (Carey Lowell) in “The Right Thing (21x01)” (which says a lot, about a lot), other than to be behind the camera (Elisabeth Rohm, Milena Govich). I actually expected Sam Waterston to just show up, if nothing but to have a 5 minute scene with Tony Goldwyn in his old office. With “Play With Fire,” they brought in Maria Recinos (Dani Montalvo) – who came back last year –  only to kill the character off in the crossover episode, and to me it was basically for nothing because we got nothing out of it other than just a reason to crossover the 3 shows and bringing in Chris Meloni. We didn’t get depth in this storyline at all really. A brief scene of Lt. Brady (Maura Teirney) and Benson in a church is as much as we really saw of Benson “grieving” Maria. It should have been more, especially between Benson and Fin (Ice T), they needed a scene all their own as they saved Maria back in SVU S7’s “911,” an award winning episode itself. Continuity on-screen is a big thing that keeps the audiences interested and tuning in, just to see what happens next.

Related: 2024-25 Premiere Review: Can the Law & Order Franchise Deliver?

To close out, while this all may seem nit-picky, it carries weight when it’s all lumped together and you get the finished product. You get this hit-and-miss both shows seem to do every week now and with the franchise aging, it needs change to remain fresh and maintain what audience it still has. This year marks the 35th year of the franchise in it’s entirety; SVU is celebrating 27 seasons and the mothership touching 25 seasons with the new run and original run combined. That is a legacy that not many shows/show brands reach these days, and speaking of legacy – assuming the brand doesn’t all of a sudden garner a brand new TV audience in the millions – that’s what Dick Wolf, NBC and producers need to keep in mind, how these shows are going to stack up in TV history. Don’t let then just falter off the air and “churn out content” (as the internet age says) just to simply reach milestones. Go all out, as much as 20 year old shows can go all out. Budgeting restricts a lot, but not the storytelling. According to Dick Wolf a long time ago, the story is what makes Law & Order compelling, the story is everything. Well then, can this brand go back to investing in those stories? SVU and L&O reboot should be taking a page from John Shiban and Organized Crime, he understood his assignment. I can’t help but brag on it.

Law & Order Thursday will return in the Fall on NBC; new episodes of Organized Crime run into the summer on streaming service Peacock. In Canada, their version – Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent – also was renewed a 3rd season as well; episodes of it will be shown on the CW for the United States in the Fall.

What do you think? Does the Law & Order franchise need to shift it's focus?

See also: What Law & Order Thursday Could Look Like Next Season as Organized Crime Moves to Peacock

Any views submitted in this post are the opinions that belong to this blog's owner and are in no way reflective of anyone that is personally connected to the Law & Order franchise such as cast/crew members, Wolf Entertainment, and NBC/Universal/Peacock nor is this blog affiliated with anyone from those organizations. Source links are provided for any news/information disclosed above.

[lo-diehards]

2024-25 Premiere Review: Can the Law & Order Franchise Deliver?

I’m going to jump right in and be up front with this, Law & Order: Organized Crime really showed up and showed out on NBC with it’s truncated season due to the strikes that occurred a season prior. The ratings however disagreed, which prompted NBC and Wolf Entertainment to strike a deal to move the newest L&O procedural fully to the streaming service, Peacock. It is where first-run new episodes of OC will air, likely as an entire season drop as the show is currently in production on it’s 5th season. Likely 2025.

Meanwhile where does that leave the broadcast network L&O shows? Still remaining where they are on the network. SVU is approaching yet another record-breaking season – the 26th season – and the mothership reboot is now going into it’s 4th season, 24 seasons in total of the flagship formula. So where do these 2 shows stand? Right now, teeter tottering is one way to describe it. Click below for my breakdown. Potential spoilers below.

Here’s the breakdown:

Law & Order

Last season, the original reboot saw quite a bit of change for an entire season basically. 13 episodes. Jeffrey Donovan (Det. Frank Cosgrove) and the series parted ways before the season even began production. Donovan was replaced by Veep co-star, Reid Scott (Det. Vincent Riley). Long time star, Sam Waterston (DA Jack McCoy) chose to depart after doing over 400 episodes total of the series, not including his appearances on other spinoffs. Tony Goldwyn (DA Nicholas Baxter) replaced Waterston. After production on the end of the season, it was announced Camryn Manheim (Lt. Kate Dixon) departed the series, to pursue other projects. Manheim is replaced by Maura Tierney as Lt. Jessica Brady. All this change is just the cast.

Meanwhile Rick Eid basically has departed the FBI franchise on CBS to put his sole focus on Law & Order. Last season’s opening was very weak with a politically charged episode that did not do the series and the characters justice at all. Over the course of last season, there were some uptick in the quality of the storytelling, something the show has struggled in since it’s reintroduction back in 2022.

“Catch and Kill”

POTENTIAL SPOILERS: (Written by: Rick Eid & Art Alamo. Directed by: Eriq La Salle) A ripped-from-the-headlines premiere that eerily resembles Sean “Diddy” Combs’ hotel assault on Cassie Ventura. Diddy is in current events for a whole lot more now than just assault. The victim in the case a Brooklyn prosecutor who is murdered, through the course of the investigation it’s discovered that she was a victim of domestic violence. This case a very personal one for ADA Sam Maroun (Odelya Halevi) due to her sister being a domestic violence victim, who was murdered and the guy who did it was not brought to justice, something that clearly drives Maroun as a prosecutor.

Odelya Halevi stole the show, hands down. Her performance was out of this world, it’s not strong emotion we’ve seen from a main character since season 20. The case clearly was affecting her character Maroun, to the point DA Baxter told ADA Price (Hugh Dancy) that Maroun needed to ‘control her emotions’. This line rubbed me the wrong way, because when men get overly emotional, there isn’t a call-out for them to tamp down on their feelings or to dismiss them for bigger picture optics. However Price’s explanation to Baxter on why Maroun was emotional kind of renders a response to his statement, Baxter’s demeanor clearly changed when Price disclosed it about her murdered sister not getting justice.

One thing that irked me, and no, it’s not Brady (Tierney) coming in strong, most new characters come into these shows this way. Why is it so hard to write characters out who will not appear on screen? Understandably Brady may or may not have known what happened to Dixon, but to shut down any concerns from the detectives about her? It’s struck me as unprofessional of someone in her role as a leader. But then the text messages Riley got from Dixon don’t exactly help. She just up and quits the force to go to Miami with her son? She didn’t transfer to Miami PD? And it seems uncharacteristic to me of Dixon to pull “an Irish goodbye” and not have a heartfelt goodbye to Riley and Shaw. I mean I get it if Camryn didn’t/couldn’t appear on screen but they could have wrote it in a way that suggested Shaw and Riley got to say goodbye to her. Just seemed kind of cold to me.

All in all, “Catch and Kill” is a much better improvement over last season’s opening episode. A solid story from the headlines, even if it’s literally still unfolding. The story didn’t inject political undertones other than the occasional liberal jab or conservative stereotype. They focused on the crime, I could have used some more focus on the legal aspect of it all, the back-and-forth between the prosecution and the defense with the law. However Odelya Halevi’s performance definitely more than compensates for the lack of that, she really brought this episode home and you can’t help but feel bad for her (and her sister) while also wanting “rich bastards” who break the law, to get what’s coming to them. Great to see Nolan Price supporting her too, I’m still struggling with trying to get who he is as a prosecutor because sometimes he just seems to be a straight-laced lawyer with no tick, no “rizz” (charisma) as the kids say these days. However I liked seeing him consoling his partner and keeping her from throwing away her career. Hope the writers don’t throw away this storyline, we definitely need to see where this takes Maroun through the course of this season, and maybe even her career.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Last season, SVU didn’t see much officially in the way of cast changes, but Lord knows that the majority of 25th landmark season was a dud. To be fully transparent in my opinion, I feel creatively SVU seems to have stalled since David Graziano has taken the helm. The revolving door on the main and recurring casts don’t help it either. Kelli Giddish’s firing back in season 24 has put the series in a vulnerable position. Other than Mariska Hargitay and Ice T (Olivia Benson and Odafin Tutuola), you don’t really have enough veteran support to sustain the police portions of the show anymore. Why is Captain Benson [still] doing hands-on with these investigations on a regular basis?  Peter Scanavino’s ADA Carisi is very underutilized and legal/court scenes seem to be repetitive. We haven’t really seen the legal side in play in a substantial way since season 21 in my view. Kind of like the original reboot, SVU falls short on a lot of the legal back-and-forth these days. It’s never been the driving force of the series, which remains Hargitay’s Benson, however the legal side helps weave the episodes together. Besides, it is LAW & ORDER: SVU. Velasco (Octavio Pisano) is written as a filler character. This character’s development stopped in season 23 to me. In season 24 the 2-3 storylines that centered Velsaco all fell short, one especially due to Molly Burnett (Det. Grace Muncy) departing the show.

This season: Kevin Kane (Det. Terry Bruno) and Juliana Aidén Martinez (Det. Kate Silva) join the cast. Kelli Giddish is set to recur this season, Rollins rejoining in NYPD’s Intelligence Unit.

“Fractured”

POTENTIAL SPOILERS: (Written by: David Graziano & Julie Martin. Directed by: Norberto Barba). The case was a pretty cut-and-dry case a young woman is killed after having a threesome. She was basically killed out of jealousy by a fourth friend. This episode wasn’t horrible, it basically was a by-the-numbers scripted episode as far as the case is concerned. Truthfully I lost interest about mid-way into the episode. I wish the writers would have put some focus on the substance of why “people/students hate the police right now” because that was the repeated message within the episode but it wasn’t extrapolated enough throughout… where is the why? We have a lot of current events that play into that, I wish they would have deep dived more into this portion, it might have made the overall story more captivating. I would have loved to see some “Fin insight” or even some Carisi insight regarding the state of how both law enforcement and even the criminal justice system itself are perceived these days. Lost opportunity here.

However speaking of Carisi, Peter Scanavino truly brought the premiere home and deserves the callout and his roses. Defendants cracking under pressure and blurting out and confessing on the stand is nothing new to the Law & Order world, it sometimes even happens in the real world. But Carisi/Peter was truly captivating to watch, it had a familiar feeling of ADAs either Cabot or Barba (Stephanie March, Raul Esparza) pushing to get the defendants to slip-up and tell the sordid truth. “You’re not my professor! You’re not my father!” Carisi responds in that matter-of-fact tone “No, I’m not,” that honestly left no further argument. The SVU writers – like the mothership writers – need to put some focus and energy into the legal side of the series. That’s where Benson also is losing a partnership with, and her relationship with Carisi [should be] just as close as hers with Cabot or Barba. We don’t see much of Benson and the ADA going up against the legality, it’s basically “deal with whoever ‘Carisi’s boss’ is and then go to trial.” Where are the legal arguments, precedence with case law, back and forth with the defense in motions or pre-trial hearings, the trial prep itself?

And speaking of Carisi’s bosses… another lost opportunity went by the last 2 seasons as we never saw Carisi interact with District Attorney Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), I hope with Tony Goldwyn (Nick Baxter) on board mothership, we can get him to crossover with SVU. Behind the scenes and in interviews both Tony and Mariska have expressed wanting each other to appear and/or direct episodes on each other’s shows – Mariska actually appears on mothership this upcoming Thursday, Oct. 10 w/ Elizabeth Marvel as Defense Attoreny Rita Calhoun – we shall see what this season can/will hopefully deliver on that front. Fans definitely want it.

In closing: both of the season premieres gave great performances from our cast members who are portraying our assistant district attorneys; especially Odelya Halevi and Peter Scanavino. “Catch and Kill” had that original mothership run feel to it, something I hope the writers will continue to strive for. According to show runner/EP Rick Eid, he is going to put some focus on character driven storylines this season, let’s see where it takes us. So far so good. SVU was very solid, I was expecting more character driven from them for the premiere, maybe here’s to them exploring more as the season goes on, especially as it concerns the newest additions to the cast. I want SVU to focus on the stories, not on the record-breaking. Sometimes it feels like episodes are scripted just to “put one more in the can.” That’s all fine and dandy, but make it count, and make it matter. After 25 seasons, the audience (many of whom are victims/survivors of sexual assault) still deserve that.

[lo-diehards]

What Law & Order Thursday Could Look Like Next Season as Organized Crime Moves to Peacock

What Law & Order Thursday Could Look Like Next Season as Organized Crime Moves to Peacock

Could a Criminal Intent Reboot Be the Answer?

Coming off the heels of my recent post on the current state of the franchise and the news that broke earlier this week (via The Hollywood Reporter) - Law & Order: Organized Crime has a deal being made to be renewed to run a fifth season, exclusively on Peacock for 10 episodes, the first time an L&O series will air first-run episodes on a streaming service. NBC has yet to announce any plans on the 3rd hour of Law & Order Thursday, which begs the question is: what will Thursday nights look like next season as there will likely be a void in the 3rd hour without another L&O series in its place?

NBC's newest arrivals, Found and The Irrational could potentially be scheduled on Thursdays in the new season. NBC also has two dramas, Dr. Wolf and The Hunting Party, set for next season, with two more drama pilots: Suits L.A. (spinoff from USA Network's original series, Suits) and Grosse Pointe Garden Society — in the works. Meanwhile, NBC could also acquire rights to air Canada's CityTV's version of L&O, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (10 episode 1st season) -- which hasn't been renewed for a 2nd season as of yet.

But from a Law & Order franchise/Wolf World perspective, this is a chance to see if there is another new iteration of the brand that can be in addition to the already robust brand as Wolf's worlds continually build themselves (the FBI franchise on CBS as well as One Chicago on NBC Wednesdays - which all are renewed for the upcoming season).

We all know pilot order spin-offs Hate Crimes (co created by Criminal Intent and SVU executive producer Warren Leight, originally posed for Peacock) and For The Defense (co created by CSI veteran executive producer Carol Mendelsohn) went to the back-burner and never became series. Also Wolf has the True Crime iteration (co creator L&O and CI executive producer Rene Balcer) of the brand that while isn't canceled in an official capacity, NBC hasn't shown recent interest in seeing it go on. Then there are 3 canceled former spinoffs; Criminal Intent (ended in 2011), Los Angeles (ended in 2011), and Trial by Jury (ended in 2005).

In interviews (one here via TV Line) and across social media, former stars Vincent D'Onofrio (Det. Robert Goren), Kathryn Erbe (Lt. Alexandra Eames), Alicia Witt (Det. Nola Falacci), and Annabella Sciorra (Lt. Carolyn Barek) as well as former executive producers Warren Leight, Julie Martin, Norberto Barba, and Michael Chernuchin - who all reunited as executive producers on SVU - have shown or voiced interest in a TV reboot of some kind. Star D'Onofrio stated on Twitter/X that the decision to reboot would ultimately be up to creator Dick Wolf but that he would love to reunite with Kathryn to do it.

The question is: would a Criminal Intent reboot be worth it for Wolf Entertainment/NBC to reboot and/or would it suffer the same fate as Organized Crime?

The answer? Yes. It would be totally be worth it for all involved. While stating the obvious, it brings our old favorites back into a new era of television and showing that element of the criminal mind and "why dunnit" in this new age that we live in, and of course the number of new jobs created as well as old jobs reopened; to this day Criminal Intent has something that Organized Crime hasn't, and that is syndication rights with a solid following still tuning in (even after the show has been off the air well over a decade)!

It is a factor that helped reboot the mothership series back in 2022 after NBC canceled it in 2010, the solid audience of syndication viewers (i.e. TNT, ION Television, WEtv), sales from home entertainment (DVDs/Amazon) and streaming services (Peacock) aided in NBC making the decision easy to reboot the flagship Law & Order series. And while the reboot isn't NBC's highest rated show, it's in the top 20 and performs pretty solid, enough to score a full 22-episode twenty-fourth (S4 of reboot), season next season. It also proves to be a great lead-in for SVU (renewed for S26), that comes on right after.

And much like the reboot and even SVU which has reinvented itself more than once over it's 25 seasons, not only could old viewers return, but this also opens the door to introduce the series to new viewers as well, especially if our favorites do make a return on screen.

What do you all think? With Organized Crime going to Peacock, could a Criminal Intent (or other spinoff) reboot help revitalize NBC Thursday nights as well as the franchise? Or is it time to try something new with the brand? Sound off!

[lo-diehards]

2024 TV Season Analysis – Organized Crime Tops the Franchise, Law & Order Better, SVU Needs an Overhaul

The 2023-24 TV season has been a truncated TV season of 13 episodes, due the ongoing WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes that happened last year. A lot of scripted TV was back burned until the strikes ended. TV writers struck their deal first and were back to work promptly, long before actors/actresses, this should have given time to plan out their already short season. Production crunched for 13 episodes to be shot between late November until this coming week, where SVU and mother ship reboot will be wrapping up shooting their finale episodes.

But where does this season grade in its entirety? I’m going to summarize – as much as I can - my views on where the franchise stands for this season from best to worst. Click below to read.

Organized Crime – The best in the franchise creatively, hands down!

New show runner/executive producer John Shiban (The X-Files) and his writing staff understood their assignment and have definitely delivered. Organized Crime is the most entertaining series in the franchise this season, week-over-week. The storylines are so fleshed out and they don’t drag on as they had since the series started. Shiban has shifted focus to the OC main characters and their backstories as well as expanding on the OC unit in its entirety. We’ve even seen 2 of SVU’s former stars show up (Tamara Tunie, Chief M.E. Melinda Warner / Dann Florek, Donald Cragen) as well as an appearance by Peter Scanavino (ADA Dominick Carisi). We have even been introduced to more of Stabler’s family, his brothers – portrayed by guest stars Dean Norris and Michael Trotter – and while they’ve come in and shook things up for Stabler, one thing I can point out, it’s the first season since OC premiered where I haven’t felt that Elliot Stabler is on a quest for vengeance or retribution of some kind.

The cast has been firing on all cylinders this season, especially with the episode that just aired last week (“Crossroads”), where one of OC’s new team members went missing and was found to be killed, Stabler having the bury his body as he is undercover with the group that found Detective-in-Training Samir Bashir (guest star Abubakr Ali). This story is still playing out so as of now we don’t fully know who killed him but I’m sure we’re about to find out. Stabler’s younger brother, Joe Jr. may have some involvement as the investigation is about to come full circle. Meanwhile, the scene in question in this episode has Christopher Meloni and Danielle Mone Truitt deliver their most powerful scene together yet in the series and they have delivered quite a few, this one stands out though.

Excellent only begins to describe it, and Organized Crime this season. Organized Crime has yet to be renewed for the 2024-25 TV season.

Law & Order (reboot) – It’s improved, but we still have a ways to go.

There is a lot to be said of the mother ship series, both the original and this reboot. But this reboot has seen a lot in its short time on air, in this short season alone the cast has changed twice already. Jeffrey Donovan (Detective Frank Cosgrove) and the series parted ways weeks before production was set to start and veteran Sam Waterston (District Attorney Jack McCoy) chose to depart before mid-season. Sam Waterston is/will greatly be missed and he leaves behind a full legacy on the show, which he joined in 1994! Meanwhile newcomers Reid Scott (Detective Vincent Riley) and Tony Goldwyn (District Attorney Nicholas Baxter) have been welcomed by fans with open arms. The cast of the reboot no matter which season is very solid and they are all very talented, but their talents often seem crippled.

The reboot seems to have an issue fleshing out the characters. Det. Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) and ADA Sam Maroun (Odelya Halevi) – and add DA Nick Baxter (Goldwyn) to me, week-in and week-out are the unsung heroes as with them we can see depth, we can understand why they make the decisions they make or feel the way they do on certain topics. I’m still on the fence about Riley’s development but he’s definitely has a more solid partnership with Shaw than Cosgrove did, and he certainly is a better character. I think they’ve got a great detective duo here – reminiscent of that of Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin) and Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto) in season 18. From about the third episode this season on up, there has been an improvement in the writing, I must say in comparison from where the season started. Most of the episodes this season seem to have one singular writer who stands out, Pamela Wechsler, who also serves as executive producer. Girl power!

What can help the reboot:

The writers need to get away from talking points and political affiliation when it comes to the characters and even the weekly storylines - looking at you show runner Rick Eid - it makes the characters come off as caricatures and stereotypes. And maybe not directly rip the episodes from the headlines near verbatim. It takes away from it if we already know how it plays out – where is “the Law & Order twist?” They need to deep dive into Vincent Reilly, Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) and Kate Dixon (Camryn Manheim); we have talented actors on here, give them something that makes us stand up and clap and relate to these characters and stop making them one-dimensional, especially ADA Price. I must say I’ve been enjoying the legal side a bit more with the addition of Goldwyn’s Baxter, his back-and-forth every week with Price has a feel of the original series run, where we see multiple points of views on cases and it doesn’t feel/sound like rhetoric. And speaking of that run, it wouldn’t hurt for them to find ways to invest those old characters in the reboot. Just because Sam has departed doesn’t mean we still don’t want to see old faces or even faces from the other L&O series show up. Elisabeth Rohm (ADA Serena Southerlyn) and Milena Govich (Det. Nina Cassady) have directed episodes! Raul Esparza and Hugh Dancy both starred in Hannibal, I could see former-ADA now Defense Attorney Rafael Barba sitting at the defense table and likely wiping the floor with Price! Tony Goldwyn even wants Mariska Hargitay to direct an episode. Let’s make the mother ship enjoyable to watch again!

It was renewed for a 24th season (4th for the reboot). The mother ship has a second chance at greatness and to continue its legacy on television, not a lot of shows get that. It would be wise that those in charge on mother ship remember that.

SVU – The 25th milestone season ranks as one of the worst.

I originally had a two-page long document on this season of SVU alone and I’ve had to shorten it down and it’s still not that short. But if I had to describe the 25th record-breaking season of SVU in 1 word, that word would be “bad.” There are calls on social media for show runner/executive producer David Graziano to be fired from the series. I’m not one to openly call for people to lose their jobs, but clearly there is something wrong and the downward spiral of the ratings mixed with bad press for SVU episodes this season is showing that. Nothing about season 25 jumps out as milestone season and there are only a handful of episodes as of now, that I would consider episodes worth going back to watch again: “Tunnel Blind”, “Duty to Report”, “Probability of Doom”, and “Children of Wolves” which was directed by Mariska Hargitay.

It’s the writing and direction of this season, period. There is no other reason or excuse that flies. There is clearly no investment from the management level behind the scenes at SVU in this milestone season being the best it could have been. The Maddie storyline overtook the season and its resolution didn’t exactly hit the mark either. Where is the retrospective? Why haven’t we gone over past cases? Seen former victims/survivors (other than 2 minutes worth of Maria from “911”)? Why did Olivia stop seeing Dr. Lindstrom (Bill Irwin)? Where is the ‘healing?’ The guest stars? We haven’t seen any former stars, other than Kelli Giddish (Detective Amanda Rollins), and that proves to me that it was a mistake to fire her in the first place. “Where is the energy? Where is the spatter? This is life-less dreck. A cheap knock-off…” (diehard SVU fans; if you know, you know). But seriously, nothing about this season overall screams “25 years!”

With the season opener, I was sure David Graziano and the writers turned the page on the mess that was most of the entire 24th season of SVU. Turns out I was wrong to think it. It seems to be doubled down. It’s proof that despite his behavior, he’s just not a good fit for SVU. He doesn’t seem to understand how to write for this show and be the voice of who women/people look up to and the voice that victims and survivors need. I honestly think he would serve better on a Criminal Intent reboot or something since he seems to like that aspect of the crimes more so than investigatory and the legal side – Peter Scanavino’s screen time has greatly decreased and well as legal scenes.

What can help SVU:

A lot of damage is done, but it’s not irreversible. The best call is to replace the person at the top if they aren’t going to change themselves, (sorry but not sorry David). The popular eras of SVU are seasons 3-7 and again 13-17 and for good reason; Neal Baer and Warren Leight remain the two people who have seen SVU at their peaks. Going into a record breaking season 26, someone who can understand the intricacies of SVU needs to take the helm and get this show turned around. Focus needs to be on steadying the storylines and fleshing them out in a meaningful way to where they connect and not have crucial bits just disappear into thin air. We need to get SVU’s focus back on uplifting the voices of victims and survivors and their journeys, as well as to delve deep again into the world of the NYPD SVU squad. It’s not just about “rape case of the week” the actual SVU deals with kidnappings, crimes against the children, the disabled/elderly, working in conjunction with the Hate Crimes unit/federal govt., trafficking and more, let’s get the variety back in the crimes – and let’s stop showing the crime taking place on screen and in graphic manner. The crime scene analysis, forensics, court scenes and legalese needs to be put back into this series, I’ve honestly felt it decrease even before S24 as far back as some S22.

We need to see Carisi navigate through these cases and the back-and-forth with the defense as well as in his own bureau. We’ve yet to see Carisi interact with the district attorney (Jack McCoy, Sam Waterston – now Nick Baxter, Tony Goldwyn) much like his preceding ADAs. Benson’s character needs to go back to therapy and deal with her issues head on (Lindstrom, Bill Irwin), she had done that up until EDMR in season 24 became her new way and it’s not working for her, since the writers seem to use it now as a crutch to say “she’s healing” but then turn around and have her do things to suggest otherwise. Benson also needs to be written as a leader and delegator more so than taking every case away from her “squad” and solving them personally. Actually from a story standpoint it would be great to see Benson face repercussions for continually doing this, in the real world that would have consequences as how can she personally investigate cases and run the unit?

And with the unit, their stories need to be dissected more. Velasco (Octavio Pisano) in particular, he had an edge in season 23 as the new guy that might be a snitch for the Chief of Detectives (McGrath, Terry Serpico) but in season 24 they pushed this character into a corner with liking Detective Grace Muncy (Molly Burnett, who departed last season) and the Chilly storyline last season and can’t seem to get him out of that corner. Velasco comes off as “just there” much in the way Fin (ICE T) is starting to. And where is Phoebe (Jennifer Esposito)? Detective Bruno and Captain (to-Detective or Chief?) Curry (Kevin Kane and Aime Donna Kelly) are pretty much holding down the squad and are actually the more I look to, to solve the cases and they are the only ones peaking my interest.

SVU is heading to record-breaking season 26, if they want to reach their goal of stopping at 30. Dick Wolf, NBC and those behind the scenes need to get serious about it if that is what they really want. Otherwise, you’re about to have long-time viewers and new viewers alike turning away. Despite what people believe about ever-lasting loyalty, it does have an end date.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Feel free to respond!

[lo-diehards]

Law & Order: SVU "Tunnel Blind" -- An Excellent Landmark Start

"Tunnel Blind" (written by: David Graziano and Julie Martin / Directed by: Norberto Barba) I don't even know where to directly start with this so I'm just going to jump in and start with; thus far, this was the best episode written under David Graziano's direction since before Kelli Giddish's departing episode last season, if not the best in total. I hope over the hiatus during the writers' strike that Graziano and the writers room sat down and redirected their focus because the S25 premiere was a great first opener and the preview for next weeks episode looks like it's pretty high octane.

They really captured everything that is SVU from start to finish, it had a feel like we took a brief step back into season 22, just without Rollins/Kelli, sadly. I'm going to start with the story but then work on the rest of the episode. So as Carisi and Rollins (Peter Scanavino and special guest star Kelli Giddish) celebrate the Baptisim of their newborn son, Nicky (could he be Dominick Carisi III?), the case this week in concerning a girl named Maddie, who was abducted from a store and Benson (Mariska Hargitay) sees the abducted girl at a traffic light. The case goes full steam during the investigation in hopes of trying to find Maddie Flynn before it's too late but then it's later discovered that she was abducted for another reason, where the perpetrator needs her to stay alive, at least for now. Olivia blames herself for not following her abductor in traffic, the squad continuously telling her it's not her fault, nor did she have probable cause to pull over the van in question.

It's a nice twisty case that goes in many different directions as the SVU squad basically 'rounds up the usual suspects' until the squad hits a dead-end. Benson reaches out yet again to Professor Amanda Rollins for help with the case, as well as for some personal insight - something Benson has done with Rollins increasingly over the last decade. Rollins clearly still wishes she was working SVU cases, even so as making the slip in saying they would find "our perp," which Benson promptly calls her out in feigning shock for her saying. As Benson leaves to go pursue the new track you can see that Rollins is somber but also in thought as her next round of students come in.

Fast forward as they think they're on track to find Maddie Flynn and their perp in New Jersey, they joined forces with a detective there from the Bergen County Prosecutors Office, Sloane Parrish (who is portrayed by, Amber Skye Noyes, who portrayed Roxie in "Townhouse Incident" back in season 17), after they find and rescue another victim, Tanya Garcia, who was left drowning in a bathtub in a seedy motel room OD'ing on fentanyl by their perp, George, from Canada. Chief McGrath (Terry Serpico) shows up at the squad, happy they found a different victim who had been missing for more than a year, and says NYPD needed to hold a press conference. Maddie's mother Eileen shows up at the press conference, distraught that her daughter hadn't been found while NYPD was holding a press conference, Benson assures her that she is still working Maddie's case, but it doesn't help as Eileen's husband has to pull her away.

Olivia Benson's voiceover: "It's moments like these that remind me of the oath I took, to protect the innocent. This is not a solitary act… but more of a life long commitment. I'm honored to wear the badge, but my duty doesn't end when a case is closed. They all stay with you, whether innocence is saved or lost. My goal is for the world to be measured by how safe it is for the innocent. And after all these years, I've come to accept that maybe it's not possible. But I still have a duty to hope."

So again this episode feels like SVU again, that went missing last season, I was on edge during the episode and I haven't been in that feeling in a long while. Everyone in the cast brought everything they had, but there is one thing that is missing and it's clearly Amanda Rollins/Kelli Giddish. It feels like the writers are trying to lead us to something with her, it feels like she'll be back again [permanently?] real-soon. Even the cast gathered during the opening credits just seemed to still lack something, that something is her. If we are getting a Rollins' return story, I'm very curious to see how it plays out with her and Carisi, like does he even know she's not fully happy teaching? And if he does know, is he going to acknowledge it? Is she to him? Questions I'm sure that will be answered as the course of the season goes on. But Kelli's permanent return would certainly right a terrible wrong that never should have happened.

Meanwhile Benson's love life: I'm of the opinion of ICE T and Dr. Lindstrom (Bill Irwin), can Benson and Stabler either do something or move on? Seriously though. "Will they/won't they?" is tired and there have been some major flops [in my view], in attempts to make something happen ("the letter"/"The Christmas Episode"/Bronx trilogy/compass necklace). I'm not a Benson-Stabler/EO shipper personally, but if this is going to be a thing or is on the road to it, the road is STILL under a lot of construction, on both shows. Benson and Stabler have not had a serious conversation with themselves about where they stand, what they feel, and for Benson, what all she endured while he was gone. Absent that happening, if they pursue a relationship of any kind (physical or otherwise), without any of the aforementioned, that's basically ignoring over a decade worth of history that Organized Crime doesn't seem to even acknowledge when it comes to Benson. I felt cringe watching the opening scene where Benson is discussing her necklace with Carisi's cousin Steve (guest star Hamish Allan-Headley). This is my opinion but, before this can be something, there's a lot more that needs to happen.

[lo-diehards]

Law & Order "Freedom Of Expression" -- Welcome Aboard Reid Scott, The Premiere Episode Itself? An Epic Miss

Spoiler alert, if you haven't seen the 23rd (reboot 3rd) season premiere of Law & Order, do not read anything other than the title if you don't want to be spoiled; otherwise on with the review.

"Freedom of Expression" (writers: Pamela Wechsler (teleplay), Rick Eid, & creator Dick Wolf / directed by: Alexander Hall) leaves a lot to be desired in this 23rd season opener of the Mothership series. The Law & Order franchise's staple since it's inception is taking the stories from current events (AKA episodes being "ripped from the headlines"), however this premiere takes that way too far, even by mother ship standards. I'm going to get into that in a later moment but first, there is some good, or at least it is in my opinion. Click below to read my full review and analysis.

That good is Senior Detective Vincent Reilly, who is portrayed by Reid Scott of Veep fame. It appears that Reilly may have a dark side and just as dark history with NYPD, coming off as literally very trigger happy as early as the opening teaser in the episode. He literally threatened to shoot a suspect who was wielding a knife - which Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) managed to disarm from the suspect, Reilly not being a fan of the way Shaw handled it - and Reilly subsequently shoots and kills another suspect near the episode's end. This is something I'm sure the series will explore later on in the upcoming fourth episode of the season, but this puts an asterisk next to this detective's name.

Meanwhile the series' previous asterisk, Detective Frank Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan, who departed during the start of the season's production in November due to creative differences) got a brief mention in the worst way to describe a characters exit. "He got jammed up for being too honest," and it "being a bad time to have an opinion," which is the exchange Shaw and Reilly had about Cosgrove in the squad room. Really? Seriously? THIS is how you have the characters discuss another one's exit? And opinion about what? Knowing Frank Cosgrove, it probably an opinion that was personal to him that should have no reflection on how he should have performed his duty as a police officer. Meanwhile, breaking the 4th wall here, if you will, this could be a hint to how Jeffrey Donovan's random exit came to be... he may have wanted a say on where he wanted something to go and was told that he could go. Honestly, if there wasn't going to be a serious effort in trying to give this character a decent/proper exit, I would have rather they cut it out of the episode like they did with Anthony Anderson's exit back in season 22.

As for Reid Scott? He's meshing good on screen with Mehcad Brooks. They have a pretty chill chemistry going here. The best thing? Scott isn't having to force a Bronx accent like Jeffrey Donovan did for Cosgrove. It feels great to see his lines come out with his natural tone. The entire L&O reboot cast is top notch, the problems continue to lie with the storylines themselves... something that clearly people at Wolf Entertainment and NBC don't seem to care about with this reboot.

Now that is the bad of this entire premiere episode. It's a dud of a story in it's entirety. It's filled with political talking points, mixed with current events that are occurring both domestically and foreign. I felt more like I was watching an op-ed on Nightly News as opposed to a basic Law & Order episode. The cherry of the episode is the still ongoing Israel/Hamas/Palestine conflict that is the base of the entire episode. You can still be against what's going on in the Middle East while championing for Israel, Palestine, and/or Judaism. Innocent life is innocent life, period. But that is not what this discussion is about, this is about the Law & Order episode that reinforces divisiveness. Dixon (Camryn Manheim) yelling about "Israel's war crimes," Price (Hugh Dancy) insisting Maroun (Odelya Halevi) was/should be affected by what's going on overseas and her not wanting to weigh in on it but instead on the defendant being the face of the Left. And to top is all off, "Hang 'Em High" Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) ], who is barely showcased, is still pushing to make deals on high profile cases? It just all felt off and I can't put it into words.

In summary, I basically give the mothership a barely solid D. It's the 23rd season's premiere, 3rd of the reboot. Rarely do shows get opportunities such as this! This opener should have been an opportunity to showcase our current characters, potentially bringing in an old one and of course our newest arrival in Reilly (Scott). It needed to be about more than just a "compelling case" (that is not very compelling at all). Ripping the headlines is one thing but this episode didn't do any kind of deviation, it was direct. Other than Reilly's two moments with suspects, where was the suspense? The energy? The continuity from the past? The guest stars? The magic?

This reboot is stuck in a boring weekly repetitive creative cycle that revolves around telling the stories with political undertones and stereotypes that the original series was never in, even when it was in the rocky 16-18th seasons when the writing staff was mostly Los Angeles based. I would say I hope the writers/executive producers make a change, but that's basically a waste, as they have yet to do it since this reboot started. And the fact that creator Dick Wolf co-wrote this piece of merda and let it go to air? Just says how he feels about the reboot too.

This episode is not Law & Order... I don't know what show it is. CNN Tonight? Hannity? Newsmax Live? Do better Law & Order. Do better. Be better.

See also: The Daily Beast - It Might Be Time for the ‘Law & Order’ Franchise to Retire

[lo-diehards]

Law & Order "Open Wounds" -- A Solid Episode; Great Performances from the Waterston's & Hugh Dancy. Hopes For Season 23.

Spoiler alert, if you haven't seen the 22nd (reboot 2nd) season finale of Law & Order, do not read anything other than the title if you don't want to be spoiled; otherwise on with the review.

"Open Wounds" (Writers: Rick Eid & Pamela Wechsler (teleplay), Gia Gordon & Ajani Jackson (story), and directed by Alexander Hall), is one of the few select episode since the reboot started that somewhat has that 'Law & Order feel' that we liked from the old days. The crime itself is related to a hot button issue that is the 2nd Amendment and the almost daily mass shootings in the United States; this episode had a moment or two that seemed kind of preachy but it wasn't over the top, one-sided and/or shoved to the viewers in my view, something that a lot of the other episodes seem to do.

The underlying stories are where the magic for this episode is; the return of Jack McCoy's daughter Rebecca (played by Sam's actual daughter Elizabeth) and we actually see a layer besides ambition in Sr. ADA Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy). Jack and his daughter - who is the defense attorney on this case - obviously were on different sides of the case and of differing opinions, which isn't helping their still-strained relationship. By the episode's end after her client is found guilty, Rebecca seems to still not be able to find forgiveness to her father; she literally left Jack standing at the curb as she hops in a taxi and takes off after telling Jack his grandson would be going to Columbia Law School.

Elizabeth Waterston brought her A game to this role and this will be the first episode since "The Right Thing" that we've seen Jack/Sam in any other capacity than "the DA with little to say." Since this reboot started Jack McCoy seems to be wound down to have something pithy to say about the case as he enters or exits are room/building and/or the occasional angst towards a decision Price has made. Sam Waterston's best showcase (and his 400th episode on mothership) in a while, he actually felt like the old Jack -- I really hope the writers continue to incorporate him into the stories more; if Sam is supposed to be portraying McCoy as the new Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), then Schiff had way more input/dialogue and presence on cases.

Meanwhile it'd be remiss not to mention that this episode also showcased Hugh Dancy's talent a bit more, it was refreshing to see him portray Price as something more than just an ambitious prosecutor who at times finds sympathy for the defense in spite of the law. During the cross examination of the defendant, he goes to pick up the weapon in evidence used in the homicide and he clearly begins to be visibly affected. Price saw the aftermath of a mass casualty event back in the episode "Camouflage" as well as in the crossover premiere "Gimme Shelter," he saw a witness gunned down and the guy bled out in his hands. It's this that I've been somewhat hoping for, for both the character and the actor. There is still a LOT more work to go with ADA Price that the writers need to do, but this is a step in the right direction. I hope they don't just drop all of this next season; mother ship is not SVU where the characters lead the story but these little bits and pieces help the stories and that's what made the original series so great.

The Finale get's a B grade from me.

Season 23 Hopes:

I said this in my franchise opinion post so I won't rehash all of that but in season 23 (3rd for this reboot), there definitely needs to be a change somewhere in the leadership in the writer's room - the timing would be perfect for Dick Wolf/NBC to rebuild it after the WGA Writer's Strike - if they hope for this series to remain on air for a while longer, because what is being delivered every week currently is not it. Where is the discussion? Where are the issues that we face today? Where is the banter between characters that doesn't feel forced or lean one-way or the other politically? And where are what these characters stand for? Particularly the ones we should be rooting for and can't seem to.

Where are the characters from the original run? Cutter, Rubirosa, Robinette, Carmichael, Green, Logan? Milena Govich and Elisabeth Rohm have both directed episodes but have yet to appear as the characters they once portrayed on screen. That would help this reboot to see some familiar faces other than some at the defense table.

On the other side of that; can the mothership characters participate in the crossovers SVU/OC seem to continue to do? Sam Waterston has yet to appear on SVU since the reboot return (aside from Gimmie Shelter); Peter Scanavino (ADA Carisi) has yet to interact on screen with Sam. Carisi is often said "his boss/the DA" but has not actually appeared on screen with him and vice versa. Peter could showcase Carisi on mother ship.

One can only hope.

[lo-diehards]

NBC's Law & Order Franchise -- A Franchise in Disarray

NBC's Law & Order franchise (which started with the original series in 1990) has seen numerous changes over the years, but in this post-COVID-19 era of television, some of these new changes are not for the good.

The Law & Order 2022 reboot is lacking what made it's original run legacy television, Special Victims Unit lost a beloved show runner/executive producer (Warren Leight who decided the leave at the end of season 23) and cast member (Kelli Giddish, who was fired at the start of season 24, which later resulted in controversy as details of her firing came to light), and Organized Crime which has had a revolving door of show runners/executive producers since it's inception BEFORE it even made it to air.

I'm going to start in sequential order in which negative change [IN MY OPINION] came into play with this once beloved TV franchise that was once taglined by critics and press as "Must See TV/Most Watched Television"

Please Click the read more tab below to read my thoughts on the brand and what I feel can be done to correct the course of the brand, before it's too late... hang on to your seats!

Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021-present, season 3) - a Disorganized Mess.

The Christopher Meloni led series has had numerous complications behind the scenes since the show's inception pre-production. Chicago P.D.'s Matt Olmstead co-created the show with Dick Wolf (and later Ilene Chaiken) and Olmstead left the production after the pilot ("What Happens in Puglia") to be replaced by Chaiken (of The L Word fame). Law & Order: OC never started with much of a premise and a way to establish itself as it started with Stabler mostly bringing Kathy Stabler's killers (the Wheatley's: portrayed by Dylan McDermott and Tamara Taylor) to justice. And in between that, Stabler and the unit going in and out of undercover assignments. The Organized Crime Control Bureau has never really been fleshed out since the series start; season 3 brought some new detectives into the fold to assist with that but storylines in the serialized series have been all over the place.

While Organized Crime was meant to distance itself from the formula of the Law & Order brand, it doesn't feel like a Law & Order show - it feels more like the Stabler show to where we mostly see Stabler as IMO this almost vigilante cop seeking retribution, in this day and age (and Stabler's because he should definitely be matured from this kind of mindset), it doesn't work. This show lacks "the Law & Order feel" (title cards don't even exist in this show except for one episode, "Gimmie Shelter") and I believe it's why the series doesn't hold audience much as SVU or even the rebooted mothership.

It doesn't help that the show is now on it's 6th show runner, being SVU's David Graziano (who is surrounded by a controversy of his own that seems to be being pushed under the rug and ignored by higher ups at the network and at Wolf Entertainment). Olmstead, Chaiken, Barry O'Brien, Bryan Goluboff from SVU, Sean Jablonski and now Graziano. What ever is going on behind the scenes at OC needs to come to a full stop otherwise this show won't make it to syndication status (5 seasons, 100 episodes). This show has a super talented cast that deserve the best; Danielle Moné Truitt and Ainsley Sieger absolutely shine!

Law & Order (reboot 2022-present, season 2) - more like crash & burn.

Now this show is really pushing my buttons and it's only because of how the stories are being written for this reboot starting from the very first episode. Dick Wolf and the network decided to give the mothership it's very much deserved second chance (it never should have been canceled) and they've managed to put together a stellar cast out of Jeffery Donovan (Burn Notice), Hugh Dancy (Hannibal), Odelya Halevi, and Camryn Manheim. Sam Waterston returned as Jack McCoy and this season Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl, Necessary Roughness) replaced Anthony Anderson who only opted to do one season.

I'm not going to sugar coat this, making Rick Eid (who 'developed' a show that was already developed once back in 1988/1990 when he was still in grade school - it's a reboot where nothing has changed formula wise!) the show runner/EP over this series is a very poor business decision. Eid has had a poor history within the Law & Order franchise itself. He was part of a writing team that Dick Wolf and the network had to intervene and dismiss back in 2007 due to declining ratings on mother ship due to the decline in the quality of the writing at that time, Wolf made him show runner over Law & Order: SVU's 18th season and Eid "had to move on [to Chicago P.D.]", basically for the same reason. The. Same. Reason. It's a case of "Fool me once, fool me twice," we're on the 3rd now.

From the minute "The Right Thing" hit the airwaves, I knew it was 2007/2016 all over again! The reboot storylines are tone-deaf, have massive plot holes, pull directly from the headlines without much deviance, skew to certain political leanings (hard left and right) and is shoved into the faces of viewers, and problems with legal strategy that actually go against the actual law and procedures that wouldn't even wash in an actual courtroom (and yes I am aware it's work of fiction but that is why they have legal advisors on the payroll - or at least I hope).

And the characters? Caricatures. I can't really root for any of them - Samantha Maroun & Jalen Shaw (Halevi & Brooks who are great) are the closet ones who are actually being fleshed out as characters that can be relatable/likable. Cosgrove and Price need work bad! Cosgrove is basically a more hard-core Elliot Stabler with a thick Bronx accent in one episode and then another episode he's a young Lennie Briscoe/Michael Westen from Burn Notice mix; it's not consistent. Most seem to prefer him portraying Cosgrove in a Michael Westen-ish style as opposed to Stabler 2.0 (if that's the case swap Donovan and Meloni).

Nolan Price? I don't know where to start. Who is Nolan Price? I don't know honestly but I can tell you he is NOT a great prosecutor. He's no Mike Cutter, McCoy or even Ben or Peter Stone. Price is written just as inconsistent as Cosgrove is and the cases as they make it to court and trial make Price worse, because it seems ambition and wanting to win is the only thing this character has. "Bias" that just aired showcased Price as a colleague was murdered and he had a personal investment in the case. He should have be recused and maybe even suspended due to his misconduct. And Price's arrogance in this episode, telling Jack McCoy that he let him run with the case because "I'm the best." I love Hugh Dancy and he's a magnificent actor but this writing is hurting this role for him in my view.

And speaking of McCoy, where the hell is he? I understand Sam Waterston can't do what he was doing back in 2007 in the courtroom scenes and he is the district attorney but my goodness, his scenes "lack meat" now, it's all bone. Jack says something pithy about the case, yells a little, and walks out his office/elevator/outside. Eid said in an interview that he wanted McCoy to walk in the shoes of Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), if that's the case Schiff was way more involved in his prosecutors cases and had more say in the direction the cases go. Again, it goes back to the writing.

Unlike on OC, Law & Order could use a show runner change, and it could use it ASAP, because what's airing as quality in this reboot is tarnishing the legacy that the original mothership established.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-present, season 24) - what is going on behind the scenes and on screen is especially heinous.

Warren Leight's departure last year was the catalyst, however Kelli Giddish's firing was the irresistible force slamming the immovable object - so to speak. Kelli Giddish was fired in place of Wolf/NBC wanting younger blood (Molly Burnett, Days of our Lives); not even a year prior Wolf/NBC faced a form of backlash after dropping two cast members of color - Demore Barnes and Jamie Gray Hyder - in exchange for one male (Octavio Pisano). Star Mariska Hargitay tried to step in to keep Kelli on the show but she was overruled by Wolf and the network.

Meanwhile something that hasn't been overruled but more overlooked; new show runner David Graziano's prior and current accusations of bullying, misogyny, and toxic behavior on sets and behind the scenes of show's he's worked on, including SVU. Graziano took to his Instagram to try and 'explain' his accusations but he did not deny them. How can you write and supervise any kind of story about women's empowerment, healing after trauma and sexual assault, inclusiveness, and justice as someone who has/is doing personal actions against that very stance? And how can Dick Wolf and NBC over look it? Money talks in short. He's also running OC for the last 3 episodes in this season.

That aside which is problematic of itself, like the mother ship, the storylines on SVU have taken a turn sideways. Season 24 started off pretty solid, it wasn't the best it's been in it's prime and younger years (S3-7, and again S13-17), but it was passable to view. Now? Post-Kelli Giddish it seems like the focus is on Muncy (Burnett), Velasco (Pisano) and the recurring guest cast (Kevin Kane and Jasmine Batchelor); ICE T and Peter Scanavino's screen time is noticeably decreased this season than season's past. And like mothership's storylines, inconsistency is on display in full view.

Under Graziano in his first 6 episodes (Gimmie Shelter is written by Rick Eid and Gwen Sigan as part of the season premiere crossover) were the solid ones, even before Kelli's last episode I felt a change in tone coming into play; and coming off of the season's Bronx trilogy its even more noticeable. It's like it's a mix of Eid's season 18 and some other show that's NOT SVU. The focus has gone off of the survivors, veteran characters, the pursuit of the worst criminal offenders, the pursuit of justice and the unit itself. SVU has gone off of the rails and if they want this show to continue to break records and preserve the legacy that it has both on and off screen, they better make some changes fast. SVU's ratings haven't exactly decreased but all this 'change' could soon have a negative impact on them; SVU's dominate the entire franchise right now as a show that's consistently been on air for 24 years now in a changing TV landscape.

In summary/my suggestion(s): the Law & Order franchise needs to undergo some major changes behind the scenes, starting with the gentlemen running these shows. I don't directly want to call for the dismissal of show runners/executive producers Rick Eid and David Graziano (certainly from SVU) but I do feel this is the start absent them being given a different set of marching orders that they should follow (not likely). The issues I brought up above only touch the surface, I don't want to sound nit-picky but things could and should be better.

This franchise is 33 years old and still going, and it could go longer and further but if there aren't any immediate changes that make an impact and turn things around, and the shows keep going about as they are: this franchise won't be around much longer. "The Story Is Everything" is what Dick Wolf has said about the L&O brand and NBC even used that as a tagline during the prime years on the network 2003-2007. That's where the investment needs to start.

[lo-diehards]

Miles Gaston Villanueva has been nominated for a Imagen Award for his portrayal of Lyle Menendez in Law & Order: True Crime #MenendezMurders. Ceremony is on August 25th!

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LAW & ORDER: TRUE CRIME - THE MENENDEZ MURDERS ON DVD

Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders will be released on DVD in the United States and Canada on September 11, 2018 via TV Shows on DVD

[lo-diehards]

LAW & ORDER is back on Wednesday’s on ION Television’s line up… shouldn’t have never been taken off. Hopefully the return of CRIMINAL INTENT is to follow!

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Mariska Hargitay (Chris Meloni's shoulder in the blur in the right corner) & Jerry Orbach (RIP) pictured above in the Law & Order/SVU cross over episode "Entitled" back in 2000.