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The axe falls at NBC & ABC
It looks as though NBC’s celebrated, 20-year-old series, Law & Order, is coming to an end. Despite indications earlier this year that the show would go on to a record-breaking 21st season, negotiations have fallen apart for next season and NBC is reportedly on the verge of dropping the show altogether. Law & Order has, for years, trailed behind its spinoff, L&O: Special Victims Unit, in the ratings. (SVU is in no danger of being canceled.) Meanwhile, the latest spinoff for the franchise, Law & Order: Los Angeles, is still set to premiere this fall.
It also looks likely that NBC’s Heroes won’t be getting a fifth season. The show has struggled in the ratings for years, but it’s held on despite storylines that have wavered between ridiculous and so-so. But NBC is not blind to the show’s dogged fans, who still hope for some kind of proper ending, and are considering giving Heroes a 2 or 4 hour wrap-up movie/miniseries at some point next season.
Meanwhile, over at ABC, a number of high-profile shows have gotten the axe, including FlashForward (which the network once hoped might become the next Lost), the long-running Scrubs (which jumped networks from NBC not too long ago), Better Off Ted (which is universally loved by critics, but has too few viewers), and Romantically Challenged.
Law & Order: Los Angeles
Yes, you read that headline right: NBC is prepping another Law & Order series.
Law & Order: Los Angeles would mark the fifth series in the franchise’s incredibly long history, though the fourth to air concurrently at this time. (Law & Order: Trial by Jury didn’t last beyond 13 episodes.) The original L&O is expected to enter its 21st season this coming fall, while Law & Order: Special Victims Unit remains the ratings champ of the bunch, and is guaranteed a 12th season in the fall. Law & Order: Criminal Intent made the jump from NBC to USA a few years ago, and has just begun its 9th season there.
The new series, Los Angeles, is a proposal that’s caught NBC’s eye because it comes with the creative cache of writer/producer Blake Masters attached. Masters is remembered for the little-watched but highly acclaimed Showtime series Brotherhood. Masters and franchise creator Dick Wolf are expected to collaborate on the new show, which has received a 13-episode order from NBC for this fall.
The real question on my mind is whether CBS will answer this challenge by adding a fourth edition of the CSI franchise to its lineup. There’s already CSI: Las Vegas, CSI: Sunglasses (er, Miami), and CSI: New York. Where should they go next? CSI: DC? CSI: Des Moines? CSI: Beirut?
New cop on the block
Jeff Goldblum will be replacing Chris Noth on Law & Order: Criminal Intent next season.
Noth is still shooting episodes for the series’ ongoing seventh season, so staye tuned to find out how he’ll be written out of the series.
Law and Order escapes being axed
Law and Order is returning for another season. There was some talk about canceling it because of problems with air time, but after successful negotiations to have it moved to the USA network, fans can breathe a sigh of relief. It is the 19th season for the series, and has earned the distinction of being the second longest-running network TV drama series.
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