Reviews: Law and Order: Los Angeles

There are mixed feelings on the latest instalment from Dick Wolf Productions, describing it from traditional to slick and sleazy.

Law and Order: Los Angeles will be coming to Seven.

The LA Times said:
The current series has fresh air to breathe and new names to drop — Chin Chin, Caltech, Hillcrest, the Edison — and apparently plans to make a meal out of Hollywood. But it hits the traditional notes square on, moving fast in brief scenes and bursts of exposition, and splitting the difference between melodrama and naturalism. The cast includes Alfred Molina and Terrence Howard as assistant district attorneys (hot and cool, respectively) and a very solid Skeet Ulrich, finding a perfect fit for his natural inwardness. Less is more here. To reject this show is to reject the very law and order of “Law & Order.”

NY Times said:
Over the years “Law & Order” and its spinoffs have tapped into almost every conceivable celebrity misdeed: preppy murderers; steroid-abusing athletes; corrupt judges; homicidal, diaper-wearing astronauts; and wacko pop-star child molesters. The new series leans even more heavily on Hollywood shenanigans, and the aesthetic has radically changed. Particularly after all those dank jogging paths, dark alleys and boarded-up brownstones in New York, the scenery in “Law & Order: Los Angeles” is almost blindingly bright and sunny. And there are lighter moments that reflect a wryly amused view of Los Angeles culture.

Hollywood Reporter said:
But the first episode comes across as too busy and unformed, with bland, friction-free detectives (a G. Gordon Liddy-esque Corey Stoll and Skeet Ulrich) investigating a home-invasion ring that ropes in a Lindsay and Dina Lohan-like mom-daughter pair. Fortunately, the pace picks up considerably once the show slips into its legal second half as sad-eyed ADA Ricardo Morales (Alfred Molina with an unfortunate haircut) exercises a presence and authority that is otherwise lacking. He’s a welcome reminder of the intense energy the best episodes of this franchise keep boiling just beneath the surface.

Variety said:
Seen the new “Law,” looks like the old “Law” — only with more conspicuous references to TMZ. “Law & Order: Los Angeles” is slick and sleazy — capitalizing on its locale with all the requisite L.A. stereotypes, while featuring a potent cast that, as usual, is pretty shackled by the well-established format. Not surprisingly, the guest stars shine in the first two episodes, which exhaust Lindsay Lohan- and Charlie Manson-type inspiration right out of the starting gate. Where it matters most, though — rebuilding the timeslot NBC flattened with “The Jay Leno Show” — what NBC wants, “LOLA” ought to get.