Now that both Hollywood strikes are over and writers and actors have new, better deals to work under, broadcast television networks are beginning to divulge their plans for the 2024 season. NBC is the latest to unveil its full lineup and with it comes the return of its long-running flagship legal drama franchise, Law & Order. Starting on Thursday, January 18, 2024, the entirety of the Dick Wolf-produced franchise will kick off their new seasons with a bang starting with the long-running parent series at 8 p.m. followed by Law & Order: SVU at 9 p.m. and finally the newest entry, Law & Order: Organized Crime at 10 p.m.
Law & Order will enter its 23rd season on television a bit lighter in terms of its cast. Jeffrey Donovan, who played the hard-nosed detective Frank Cosgrove since the show’s revival in 2022, has bowed out ahead of the upcoming run of episodes. The series is no stranger to roster turnover though, so everything should continue running as planned with faces new and old stepping in to fill the void. Among those returning to the procedural of detectives and prosecutors include veterans Sam Waterston and Hugh Dancy, Oldelya Halevi, and Camryn Manheim. SVU, meanwhile, is entering its landmark 25th season which will be business as usual for the longest-running entry in the franchise. The cast will, however, lose Molly Burnett who spent less than a year as Detective Grace Muncy in Season 24. Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Peter Scanavino, Demore Barnes, Octavio Pisano, and Jasmine Batchelor are all expected to return.
Rounding out the trio is Organized Crime which is entering its fourth season on the network. The series is still trying to find its footing among Wolf’s other heavy hitters, but NBC has wasted no time looping the newest team in with the veterans for crossover events akin to the One Chicago trio. In terms of viewership, the series is right there with its older compatriots, ranking among the network’s top 10 dramas in ratings for the 18-49 demographic during the 2022-23 season, all while cracking 50 million viewers through both NBC and Peacock. John Shiban will take over as the new showrunner this time around as Christopher Meloni once again leads the cast.
The Future Is International for ‘Law & Order’
Aside from the three stateside series, Law & Order is also spreading its tentacles up North. A new spinoff, titled Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, is in the works in hopes of airing in Canada sometime next year. It’s planned to launch on CityTV there, but NBC may loop American audiences in on the action at some point in the future. Tammy Isbell leads the cast as Detective Alice Riley alongside Aden Young as Detective Sergeant Henry Graff, Kathleen Munroe as Detective Sergeant Frankie Bateman, Karen Robinson as Inspector Vivienne Holnees, K.C. Collins as Deputy Crown Attorney Theo Forrester, Nicola Correia-Damude as Forensic Pathologist Dr. Lucy Da Silva, and Araya Mengesha as Tech Expert Mark Yohannes.
Catch the premieres of all three Law & Order series on NBC on January 18 from 8 p.m. through 11 p.m. In the meantime, check out our guide to Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent here for everything there is to know about the upcoming new spin-off.