NBC Extends Law & Order Franchise

NBC has given a straight-to-series order to Law & Order: For the Defense, the latest extension of the hit Dick Wolf franchise.

Law & Order: For the Defense will take an unbiased look inside a criminal defense firm. The series will put the lawyers under the microscope, along with the criminal justice system.

Carol Mendelsohn (CSI) will serve as showrunner and executive producer, along with Wolf, Arthur Forney, Julie Weitz and Peter Jankowski. The series will be produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group and Wolf Entertainment.

“This new show is exciting for me personally,” Wolf said. “We spent the last 30 years on shows that played offense. Now it will be great to play defense, and being able to do it with Carol is an honor and an opportunity for both of us to do television that hasn’t been done before.”

“We can’t wait to bring audiences the latest chapter of Law & Order, which will explore a different angle of the criminal justice system,” said Lisa Katz, president of scripted programming at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “We’re excited about Dick Wolf’s perpetually thought-provoking approach as well his collaboration with Carol Mendelsohn, who we have been eager to do a series with for a long time.”

Law & Order debuted in 1990 on NBC. Law & Order: SVU, starring Mariska Hargitay, is in its 22nd season. Law & Order: Organized Crime premiered April 1.