USA Renews 'Law and Order: CI' for One Final Season; Vincent D'Onofrio to Return
USA Network has renewed the floundering 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' for a tenth and final eight-episode season with Vincent D'Onofrio back as Detective Goren. According to Deadline Hollywood, the deal the network made with series creator Dick Wolf also resulted in a pilot commitment with him.
"We have been the fortunate caretakers of this legendary series, and we plan to give it the world-class farewell it so richly deserves," Jeff Wachtel, president of original programming at USA Network, told Deadline.
The network is in discussions with other former 'CI' stars, such as Kathryn Erbe, to return, but not Jeff Goldblum.
The future of 'Law & Order: CI' was in question when Goldblum announced his departure in August, two years after joining the series. So, how did the show receive a new season? Wachtel told Deadline he wanted to honor the series and use the final episodes as a launching pad for a new show, like 'Monk' helped USA attract viewers to 'White Collar.'
"I want to thank Bonnie [Hammer, president of NBC Universal Cable] and Jeff for bringing 'Criminal Intent' back for a tenth season," Wolf said. "Only time will tell if this is a fond farewell or a renaissance for Detective Robert Goren but everyone both here and in New York is ecstatic about going back to work on a show that's a passion for all of us."
Tell us: Are you glad to see Vincent D'Onofrio back for the 'Law & Order: CI' swan song?

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