"Law & Order" Revived at NBC for Season 21 from Dick Wolf & Rick Eid
by Nellie Andreeva
September 28, 2021


Eleven and a half years after NBC abruptly canceled "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 season 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.

https://deadline.com/2021/09/law-order-revival-nbc-season-21-dick-wolf-rick-eid-1234846181/

A Law & Order revival makes sense in 2021 because of streaming (https://www.indiewire.com/2021/09/law-and-order-revival-nbc-peacock-broadcast-tv-future-1234668014/)

"When Law & Order was canceled 11 years ago, the NBC tentpole‘s final season was averaging 8.2 million viewers," says Tyler Hersko. "Today, those figures would give Dick Wolf’s procedural the highest same-day viewership of any scripted drama on the network. But that’s not the only reason it’s coming back. Sure, NBC is banking on Season 21 of the flagship Law & Order franchise to provide a broadcast ratings bump, but — like seemingly every decision in entertainment these days — streaming may be the priority...The decision could benefit NBCUniversal on multiple fronts. The Law & Order revival should earn solid ratings on broadcast, given the franchise’s continued success and NBC’s proven track record with Wolf’s programming fleet. Traditional procedural dramas with name recognition have become one of network TV’s few reliable mainstays, even as ratings continue to drop across the board. Wolf’s Chicago shows ranked first, second, and third in network viewership among scripted series for the 2020-2021 season, while Law & Order: Organized Crime and Law & Order: SVU came in fifth and sixth, respectively. (This Is Us is the only show not produced by Wolf in NBC’s top six programs, though it’s No. 1 in the 18-49 demo.) But a 21st season of Law & Order also helps the conglomerate’s streaming service. When NBC cancelled Law & Order, Peacock was just a network nickname, and streaming wasn’t a factor. Now, it’s the future, and library content is a key component to keeping subscribers satisfied. The massive Law and Order franchise has endured in popularity since the original series’ cancellation."

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It appears Law & Order's abrupt cancelation in 2010 still ticked off Dick Wolf (https://www.avclub.com/nbc-not-desperate-at-all-decides-to-bring-back-regula-1847764427): "He says NBC bringing it back is one of the few times in life where 'literally dreams come true,' and it would be interesting to know if this is happening because of some kind of behind-the-scenes contract deal," says Sam Barsanti. "After all, Wolf practically owns NBC now with the success of SVU and his Chicago shows, and he recently started making hits for CBS with his FBI shows. Maybe NBC knew that this was one way to keep him happy?"
How Dick Wolf could bring back the original Law & Order characters -- including the late Jerry Orbach's Lennie Briscoe (https://www.pajiba.com/tv_reviews/dun-dun-dick-wolf-is-bringing-back-law-order.php)

If this happens, I would love to see a whole new cast.

Dick Wolf on reviving Law & Order after more than a decade: "I never give up on things I believe in" (https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/dick-wolf-premiere-week-law-order-revival-1235081573/)

"It took a long time, but the journey was worth it," Wolf tells Variety of NBC's announcement last week that it is reviving Wolf's classic Emmy-winning drama for a 21st season, 11 years after it was abruptly canceled. Wolf wouldn't go into details about the revival, but said that the L&O formula will stay largely intact. “This will be Season 21, so it’s the same Law & Order everyone knows from the first 20 years,” he says. “So there’s really nothing to fix, we just want to continue telling great stories. Casting as always will be three cops and three D.A.s.” The 2021-2022 season so far has been good for the Wolf brand. CBS' Tuesday lineup of FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International has done well. So has NBC's decision to have three Chicago shows on Thursday and two Law & Order shows on Thursdays. "All told, the eight Wolf shows combined to reach an unduplicated audience of 36.2 million viewers in week one of the fall 2021 TV season," says Variety's Michael Schneider. "According to NBCUniversal research, around 14% of all adults in the United States watched at least one of Wolf’s shows — of the Law & Order, Chicago or FBI variety — within the first three days of air."

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Why the Law & Order revival isn't a Peacock original (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/law-order-revival-nbc-peacock-1235025776/): NBC Universal is focused "on securing the biggest audience for L&O rather than airing it exclusively on Peacock," explains The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg. The new Law & Order's episodes will still show up on Peacock and Hulu the day after airing on NBC. “The Law & Order brand reaches different audiences across all of our platforms, and our goal is to bring the largest number of viewers possible to the show,” adds Lisa Katz, president of entertainment scripted content at NBCUniversal TV and streaming. “This strategy enables us to leverage the broad reach of the network while also making the show incredibly accessible to all of its fans on Peacock. It isn’t a case of ‘either/or’ but rather ‘yes, and.’”
Dick Wolf says the writing is of utmost important in his Law & Order, Chicago and FBI series (https://www.etonline.com/dick-wolf-on-benson-and-stablers-relationship-and-30-years-of-success-on-tv-exclusive-173275): “It’s always the writing,” Wolf tells E.T. “There are a lot of really great actors out there but they don't make up the words, and the words are what people are initially attracted to. And it’s what keeps them around for long, long periods of time.”