Law & Order

From The TV IV

Law & Order
Premiere	September 13, 1990
Finale	May 24, 2010
Airs
Creator	Dick Wolf
Network	NBC
Style	60-minute crime drama
Company	Wolf Films Universal Television (seasons 1–8) Studios USA Television (seasons 9–12) Universal Network Television (seasons 13–14) NBC Universal Television Studio (seasons 15–17) Universal Media Studios (seasons 18-20)
Episodes	456 + 1 telefilm
Seasons	20
Origin	USA

See the Law & Order franchise article for other Law & Order series.

Law & Order is a long-running crime drama that aired on NBC.

At the time of its cancellation in 2010, it was the longest-running primetime drama in American television, and the second longest-running scripted series in US primetime (second to The Simpsons).

Overview

Although the cast changed radically during its run, the format of Law & Order remained unchanged. A cold opening that is often unrelated to the crime itself occurs before the credits where someone finds the result of a crime. After the credits, two detectives investigate a crime committed, often murder but occasionally other crimes of the same variety, and follow through leads until a suspect is caught. An interrogation occurs and the Law portion of the episode ends. The second half of the episode is characterized by the trial of that suspect by the assistant district attorneys. Occasionally the detectives will make more appearances throughout the trial to follow up on leads that support the prosecution's evidence.

Because the series was set in New York City, filming is on location and often used local color to fill in extras. Beyond average joes on the street, New York politicians like Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg made appearances on the series. Keeping with this accuracy in setting, the series employed a number of police officers and legal experts as consultants in order to keep the plotlines as realistic as possible. This served in making the series different from previous detective shows like Perry Mason because not only did the police make mistakes, but the lawyers didn't always win their cases.

Law & Order is one of NBC's biggest revenue sources and ties Gunsmoke as the longest running drama in American prime time television history. The popularity of the series was such that it spawned a movie starring Chris Noth as well as several domestic and international franchise shows.

Cast

Seasons

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series

DVD Releases

External Sites

• Official NBC website for Law & Order
• Law & Order Episodes, TV Listings, News, Photos and More at TVGuide.com