Law & Order is one of America’s longest running primetime dramas. It ran for 20 seasons from 1990 to 2010 when it was cancelled, which is incredible! The crime drama followed a two-part approach – the first half hour was the New York City Police Department detectives investigating the crime and apprehending the suspect and the second half focused on the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office prosecuting the defendant. The show was so successful that it became a franchise, spawning four TV series and a television film. Since the show was so popular and successful, here are 10 behind the scenes secrets:
10. Concept
Dick Wolf developed the concept for Law & Order back in 1988. He wanted to paint a more optimistic picture of the American criminal justice system. He also took the format of the 1963 series Arrest and Trial, which lasted one season. He initially considered calling his show “Night & Day,” but then came up with the name, Law & Order. He wanted the show to cover some of the real cases by focusing on stories that were making headlines.
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9. Not Enough Female Cast Members
During season two, NBC began pushing producers to add female characters to the all male cast, so Carolyn McCormick was brought on board to play police psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Olivet. By the end of season three, NBC execs still felt that the show did not have enough female characters, so they demanded that new female characters be added to the cast or the show would potentially lose its Friday night time slot. Creator and executive producer Dick Wolf fired Dann Florek and Richard Brooks as a result and S. Epatha Merkerson and Jill Hennessy replaced them.
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