Unique deal saves Law & Order — for now

Dick Wolf and NBC Universal have sorted out the Law & Order mess for the time being. Despite his status as a mainstay for NBC and various versions of the L&O franchise being aired every hour on some network somewhere on the dial, the producer who can only get a hit if he puts the words Law & Order up front of the show title recently found himself with only L&O SVU pulling in enough ratings to be guaranteed a new season.

Now, after various bargaining, budget-cutting suggestions and the possibility that the granddaddy (AKA “the mothership”), Law & Order, would be moved to cable, they’ve got the solution:
Law & Order will return to NBC for an 18th season.

But companion show Law & Order: Criminal Intent, starring the brilliant Vincent D’Onofrio and Chis Noth switching off in the lead, will move to NBCU’s USA network: the first series to get a full-season order of 22 episodes that airs first on cable.

After running on USA, the episodes will air later on NBC. Maybe even the same week (and with the rerun factor and all the cable runs, who among Law & Order franchise fans even knows what time the shows run on NBC anymore?). The double runs will amortize costs and, combined with lower license fees for both shows, stops Wolf from running with the mothership to TNT, as was in the works.

The deal only gets the L&O bunch through another year. Dick Wolf will have to go through the begging and dealing process once again as he tries to get his show past the 20-year mark, breaking the Gunsmoke record.

–Tabloid Baby