It's only been a month since Christopher Meloni stepped down from 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,' but producers are reportedly screen-testing his possible replacements in New York today.

Production on the upcoming Season 13 is due to get underway soon and, according to Deadline.com, 'SVU' creator/executive producer Dick Wolf and NBC have narrowed the field to a short list of five.

The actors, who have all doubtless just spent a sleepless night in the Big Apple rehearsing their lines, have been named as: Danny Pino ('Cold Case'), Kevin Alejandro ('True Blood,' 'Southland'), David Conrad ('Ghost Whisperer'), Michael Raymond-James ('Terriers') and Rhys Coiro ('Entourage').

Each one will test today with Meloni's co-star, Mariska Hargitay, who plays Det. Olivia Benson on the drama. Both Alejandro and Raymond-James recently guest-starred on 'SVU,' so could be feeling like they've got the edge.

I remember when 'Law & Order: SVU' debuted, there were a lot of joking articles asking what would be next, 'Law & Order: Pet Detectives'? There were also questions about how many of these shows an audience could really take, and so on and so forth, with the same humor (if you can call it that) applied to the 'CSI' and 'NCIS' franchises as they came along.

Well guess what, people? 'Law & Order' is doing it again. NBC has greenlit a fourth version of 'L&O' -- set in L.A. -- for a fall debut. The original and 'SVU' are also looking good for renewals, while 'Criminal Intent' airs on cable network USA and on NBC.

My mind is boggled by this news. At this point, when I watch 'L&O' it has the same sort of nostalgic feeling I used to get from old episodes of 'Little House on the Prairie'.

I remember when 'Law & Order: SVU' debuted, there were a lot of joking articles asking what would be next, 'Law & Order: Pet Detectives'? There were also questions about how many of these shows an audience could really take, and so on and so forth, with the same humor (if you can call it that) applied to the 'CSI' and 'NCIS' franchises as they came along.

Well guess what, people? 'Law & Order' is doing it again. NBC has greenlit a fourth version of 'L&O' -- set in L.A. -- for a fall debut. The original and 'SVU' are also looking good for renewals, while 'Criminal Intent' airs on cable network USA and on NBC.

My mind is boggled by this news. At this point, when I watch 'L&O' it has the same sort of nostalgic feeling I used to get from old episodes of 'Little House on the Prairie'.

After 20 years, NBC's relationship with the 'Law & Order' franchise is still going strong.

According to sources for Deadline Hollywood, NBC has picked up 'Law & Order: Los Angeles,' the latest show in Dick Wolf's juggernaut franchise, for 13 episodes this fall. 'Brotherhood' creator Blake Masters is co-creating the series with Wolf.

Meanwhile, a 12th season of 'Law & Order: SVU' is looking more and more likely now that show leads Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have cleared their schedules to shoot new episodes this summer, according to the report. Based on contract negotiations from last spring, Hargitay and Meloni are expected return under a one-year deal that includes the option of an additional season.

C'mon, NBC and TNT: Can't you give viewers at least one more season of hearing that familiar "doink! doink!" theme emanating from our TV screens?

A 2010-2011 renewal for NBC's 'Law & Order,' a show so popular that it has sparked three spin-off series, would push the legal drama to an astounding 21st season, and make it the longest-running drama series ever.

But, according to The Hollywood Reporter, there's a big glitch standing in its way: NBC may not re-up the series if the network's 'L&O' cable partner, TNT, doesn't also give a renewal the thumbs up.

Was that a real moment between Bob Costas and Lindsey Vonn during the NBC coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics on Saturday night ... or just a typical cross promotion for the Peacock network? You be the judge.

The gold medal winning American downhill ski champion, one of the darlings of the Vancouver games, appeared with Costas. At the end of the interview, Bob reminded Lindsey that she's the biggest 'Law & Order' fan in the world. Lindsey didn't deny it. She said it was true and the video they showed of her visiting the set and gushing about the show looked very sincere.

If Dick Wolf's Festivus wish was to get Law and Order renewed for another season on NBC, he got what he wished for. NBC chief Angela Bromstad has vowed to renew Law and Order for season 21. That'll mean that Wolf's show will break the long-running record of 20 seasons for a dramatic series held by Gunsmoke.

Bromstad's vow presumably extends to Law and Order SVU, as well, especially since it does better in the ratings. Of course, nothing on the NBC slate is doing particularly well this season with the exception of the National Football League and The Biggest Loser. All the scripted series have struggled in the Nielsens. The Jay Leno Show experiment has been anything but a boon for the prime time schedule, no matter how NBC spins it.

Controversial talk show host Bill O'Reilly is involved in another spat. But does he have a point this time?

The latest feud involving the star of Fox's long-running opinion series 'The O'Reilly Factor' stems from last week's episode of 'Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit,' which revolved around a killer stalking the children of illegal immigrants. During the course of the episode, the suspect's defense lawyer, played by veteran television actor John Larroquette, argued that his client was incited to violence by the words of conservative pundits such as O'Reilly.

I figured they would do this, for nostalgia's sake if nothing else. It seems pretty likely that Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is going to outlast the parent that spawned it (because let's face it, sex sells!). Still, it was nice of NBC to renew Law & Order for a 20th season, allowing Dick Wolf to match Gunsmoke at twenty seasons.

Of course, now he's going to be angling to surpass the series next year. Even more ambitious would be a push to outdo Gunsmoke in episodes. With word coming down that L&O got a 16 episode commitment, it's just falling further and further behind.

This is a bummer. (By the way, isn't there a better expression than that to describe disappointment? "What a shame" is just too British to me.) Anyway, TV Guide's Michael Ausiello reports that Law & Order: SVU has lost Diane Neal. The actress, who's played assistant district attorney Casey Novak on the Dick Wolf show for five years has turned in her resignation. This season will be her last. "Diane spent five years on SVU and was a tremendous addition to the SVU team. She is looking forward to new opportunities and she will be missed," says the NBC source about her departure.

Like I said, I'm not happy about this one. Unlike so many of the faces and forms that come in and out of the L&O universe, Diane Neal stuck out. And I mean that in a good way. She had a presence and a passion, which was not only recognizable amid the many others who seem interchangeable, it was crucial to match fire with Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay and the other SVU cast.

Sam Waterston wants a promotion. For the last 13 years Waterston has played Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy on the long-running (some say too long) NBC drama Law & Order. Now that co-star, and former U.S. Senator, Fred Thompson (who played District Attorney Arthur Branch) is leaving the show to run for president of the United States his job position is now open. And, it seems that Waterston's McCoy wants to move into the slot.

According to an anonymous source close to the show, Waterston is negotiating to have his character step into the D.A. role when Law & Order returns at the beginning of 2008. How McCoy would slip into the position, as well as his replacement, have yet to be determined. When asked to confirm this news L&O creator Dick Wolf as well as Waterston declined to comment.

A lot of people thought that one or both of the NBC shows Law and Order and Law and Order: Criminal Intent would be on the cancellation list when NBC presents its upfront tomorrow, but the network has surprised many fans by renewing both shows.

There is a little twist when it comes to Law and Order: CI though. The show will actually first run the new episodes of the season on USA and then NBC will run repeats.

Law and Order is a straight renewal though. The show will head into its 18th season of shows "ripped from the headlines!" As far as Law and Order: SVU goes, most expect that to be renewed with no problem. We'll have full coverage of the network upfronts all this week, starting with NBC on Monday.

Jonathan posted news recently that J.J. Abrams is in talks with HBO to direct and produce a show through his Bad Robot Productions. That's all well and good, but let's play junior programming executive for a moment. How would you feel about buying a show from Bad Robot, given their history.

Are you making a deal with the brilliant team behind the top 20 hit Lost? And does the fact that we have now switched that qualifier from top 5, to top 10, to top 20 cause any concern? Or are you making a deal with the team that so bungled Alias that by the end of the run it was almost an act of charity for ABC to even air the show? Seriously. May 17th, 2006, Alias is the #5 show in its time slot behind Deal Or No Deal (NBC), Bones (Fox), The Amazing Race (CBS), AND Next Top Model (UPN), only managing to beat out the movie Final Destination 2 (WB).

Dick Wolf, who has brought NBC success with various versions of the Law & Order franchise, has two comedy scripts lined up for NBC. One is a single-camera comedy about a fumbling U.S. Congressman and the staff that try to handle him. The other is a medical sitcom about ER docs and paramedics. I think I've seen both of these shows before, they were called Spin City and Scrubs. Right now, neither show has a title.

I'd be interested to see what Dick Wolf's sense of humor is like. The man's entire resume is made up of crime dramas.

After two seasons, Dennis Farina is leaving his role as Detective Joe Fontana on the long-running NBC hit Law and Order. He's going to pursue other projects and work on his production company.

This is probably a good move for Farina. He's a good actor (he's one of those actors who is good in everything he's in, even if what he's in isn't that good), but Law and Order wasn't the best showcase for him. It's not exactly a show that leaves room for meaty acting or character development. It's all about the crime, the investigation, and the trial, and there's no room for anything else really. Besides, the show has really gone downhill, with all the "ripped from the headlines" cases.

No word yet on who will replace him.