One of the most popular television series of all time may be poised to return to airwaves, with news that NBC is looking at possibly bringing Dick Wolf’s original Law & Order back to the land of the living.
Reboots are all the rage these days; Fox resuscitated Jack Bauer for 24: Live Another Day, and NBC is already wheeling out Heroes for 13-episode miniseries Heroes Reborn, so the idea of making more Law & Order isn’t completely out of left field.
In fact, network brass note that this isn’t the first time they’ve discussed a reboot of its longest-running drama series. However, Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva thinks that movement is happening on that front, with NBC potentially looking at assembling an all-star lineup of heavy hitters from Law & Order‘s past, including stalwarts Chris Noth and Sam Waterston, for a 10-episode limited series.
Law & Order somehow never got the respectable send-off it would seem to have earned – in 2010, after 20 seasons, NBC abruptly canceled the show, preventing it from breaking Gunsmoke‘s record for longest-running primetime drama series. A resucitation could allow it to break that tie, while also letting NBC again tip its hat to Wolf, who has since delivered juggernaut hit after juggernaut hit for the network (three of his series, Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, just got early renewals, and he’s currently mulling another Chicago spinoff titled Chicago Med).
Additionally, the limited series template is massively popular, having allowed fans of 24, Arrested Development and The Killing a chance to see their favorite shows one last time. The same formula should please Heroes and Twins Peaks fans in the near future (Showtime has ordered a return for the latter cult series). So why not Law & Order? The show certainly has the fan base necessary to make any TV return a huge success, and if NBC can right a past wrong with someone as important to its dramatic slate as Wolf, there’s really no downside.
