dickwolf

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]

 

 

I thought this week's episode of Conviction was much, much better than last week's episode. I still think that there are too many storylines in each episode, making it hard to care too much for any particular character. But, the multiple storyline thing seems to be the M.O. for this show. So be it.

I feel like a broken record. It seems like just yesterday that I was telling you about a new drama created by Law and Order creator Dick Wolf. That one is called Conviction and it begins after the Olympics. Wolf already has another drama pilot in the works for NBC. This one is called Power, and it's actually a little different from his other four shows currently on NBC. It's not a medical drama or anything. But, he doesn't plan to wrap-up his stories at the end of each hour. This time, he's setting his story with a team of young federal task force agents and U.S. attorneys investigating Hollywood power brokers (hence, the title) on a laundry list of offenses including wiretapping and extortion. Wolf  says the popularity of series like 24 and The Sopranos show that there can be success beyond self-contained episodes. NBC hasn't greenlighted the pilot yet so it's doubtful that we'll see Power in the fall.

Texas Republican Tom Delay is upset over a line from last Wednesday's episode of Law & Order. In the show, one of the detectives investigating the murder of a judge says maybe they should put out an APB for someone in a "Tom Delay t-shirt." The line is a reference to Delay's recent comments regarding judges and their perceived liberal activism.

NBC, to its credit, backed up L&O creator Dick Wolf by saying the show is a fictional drama and viewers know the difference between it and reality. Unfortunately for NBC's ratings, it turns out Delay heard about it from a friend of his wife.