criminalintent

FOX isn't the only network that is jumping the gun in front of the May upfronts to make an announcement about the upcoming fall season. In what comes as no surprise (even though there were rumors that one of its members was on the cancellation bubble) NBC has renewed all three series in the Law & Order franchise: the original, SVU, and Criminal Intent.

All three series have been solid ratings draws this season on a network that is trying to find its way back to the top. SVU is having the best season out of the three with viewership of about 14 million per week. The original Law & Order is second with over 11 million and Criminal Intent, which went with a rotating cast this year and is up against powerhouses The Sopranos and Desperate Housewives, is pulling a bit under 11 million.

Next season will be the 17th for Dick Wolf's original Law & Order, which makes it the longest-running television drama currently running (far ahead of ER's 12 seasons). SVU will mark its eighth season and Criminal Intent will begin its sixth season in the fall. There is no word on whether the current rotating cast of Criminal Intent (Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe as detectives Goren and Eames one week and Chris Noth and Annabella Sciorra as detectives Logan and Barek the next) will continue into next season.

[via Zap2it]

 

 

The third successful spin-off of the original Law and Order series is about to reach its 100th episode, a milestone for any television show. This Sunday's all-new Criminal Intent features the original cast members, Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe, who have been alternating episodes with new detectives Chris Noth and Annabella Sciorra. The episode is called Slither and it was written by executive producer Rene Balcer. The episode is about a European gang leader who likes to kill tourists. By the way, I think the word 'slither' is meant to be a description of the main criminal because the show description doesn't mention anything about snakes. The episode also features Olivia D'Abo, a character whom viewers voted to keep alive during a poll in the show's fourth season. Criminal Intent airs Sundays at 9 pm on NBC.