★★★★★ 0/5

Law & Order will break US record

Law and Order will get a renewal for a 21st season, passing Gunsmoke as the longest running drama series ever on US television.

13
Leave a comment

law-and-orderNBC crime drama Law and Order will get a renewal for a 21st season, making it the longest running drama series ever on US television.

“I’m a Law and Order junkie,” executive Angela Bromstad told Business Week. “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for not having Law and Order break the record.”

At 20 seasons the last season of L&O matched the Dick Wolf drama matched Gunsmoke, but still trails The Simpsons by one series as a scripted primetime series.

Bromstad also indicated NBC will order 10 hour-long dramas and eight 30-minute comedy pilots for the September season, more than it has in seven years. Last year it had 11.

“In success we became used to making fewer and fewer pilots,” Bromstad told the magazine. “We have to take more swings, take more shots creatively, and have more back-up.”

Parenthood and The Marriage Ref will both premiere in the US in March.

Source: Business Week

13 Responses

  1. I just thought I’d add that NBC and Dick Wolf are talking of plans to launch a new spin-off, Law & Order: Los Angeles, tentatively scheduled for the US fall season. This will be the fifth US L&O incarnation in the US behind:
    Law & Order
    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    Law & Order: Criminal Intent
    Law & Order: Trial By Jury
    …not to mention the several international versions such as Law & Order: UK.

  2. Yes!!! They’d been given an extra 4 eps for s20, so it was hoped that was a good sign for renewal. I’ve always loved it, but since they made Jack boss and gave him his own problem child, it is back to its best.

    If only 10 would put it back on, I don’t care what time.

  3. So NBC will keep this going and Fox will keep the Simpsons going in a contest to see who is the biggest… err I mean longest running! While L&O does usually win it’s timeslot in the US it’s up against Ghost Whisperer, a repeat of House, Smallville and whatever ABC pulls out of the sewer!

  4. rofl the only reasn Law and Order is being renewed is

    a) Dick Wolf wants his place in the history books
    b) NBC has nothing else to fill its timeslots, if they didn’t renew L/O NBC would just become the Leno/Dateline network.

    To KFed,

    Unlikely Leno will be cancelled, I don’t think he will even be phased out until 2010-11 season, NBC simply doesn’t have any viable projects in the works.

  6. Have been saying it for awhile (when it was used as friday night filler last year… and just prior to the short return during this summer period), the original L&O is my favorite out of the franchise. I think i watched too many SVU episodes (including many repeats) and grew tired of it…. although i still appreciate Munch…. he rocks!!

    I like the current cast lineup in L&O, the episodes have been of a pretty good standard. If only Channel 10 would play them out properly.

  8. NBC throwing all this stuff out there & hoping something sticks is similar to what the network was doing in the late 70’s when it was also last like it is now. But eventually the likes of Cosby,Cheers and Seinfeld took the peacock back to the top.

    On L&O happy to see it break the record of a dreary old western but I haven’t really watched since Briscoe left.

  10. The last time I saw the NBC ratings, it wasn’t doing too bad for a Friday night, so I’m not really that surprised that it is likely to be renewed.

  11. Fantastic news – the series seems to have had a bit of a renaissance with the arrival of Roache, Sisto and Anderson. Just a shame we don’t get to see it over here 🙁

Leave a Reply