‘Law & Order’ Revived By NBC

Eleven and a half years after NBC abruptly cancelled Law & Order, denying its shot at making TV history, the network is bringing back Dick Wolf’s Emmy-winning series for a new season, its 21st. NBC has greenlighted a new instalment of Law & Order, from Wolf and writer-showrunner Rick Eid, which will continue the classic bifurcated format and will once again examine “the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.”



There is no cast set but the new season is expected to feature beloved characters from the original series, with Sam Waterson’s Jack McCoy believed to be at the top of the wish list.

The producers from Universal Television and Wolf Entertainment are expected to reach out to former cast members shortly about coming back. Some Law & Order stars are currently in the Wolf Entertainment/Uni TV fold, including S. Epatha Merkerson on Chicago Med and Alana De La Garza on FBI.

Law & Order, which launched the biggest procedural franchise on TV, was on the cusp of breaking Gunsmoke’s record as the longest-running primetime drama ever when NBC in May 2010 unceremoniously cancelled the series without a proper finale when renewal negotiations fell through.

While Law & Order creator Wolf got to set a new record for the longest-running drama series with spinoff Law & Order: SVU, now in its 23rd season, he always felt he had unfinished business with the mothership series ending the way it did. “There are very few things in life that are literally dreams come true. This is mine,” he said about the Season 21 order.

#LawAndOrder returns. Season 21 is coming to x-on:nbc.
Find out more information here: https://t.co/M56Z0haAkr pic.twitter.com/ZAi6J3XhDx

— Wolf Entertainment (x-on:WolfEnt) September 28, 2021