Dick Wolf is a criminal mastermind, of sorts; he’s the producer who brought us some of the single greatest crime shows of our time. His macabre masterpieces include Law & Order (the original), Law & Order: Criminal Minds, and of course, Law & Order SVU: Special Victims Unit. The sound of the musical gavel featured in these shows will reverberate in our hearts and spines for many years to come. The sound has defined a generation, and now Dick Wolf is gracing us with his unique insight into the insidious with a brand new show all about what else, but the criminal element. Here’s everything we know about it, so far.
Some context: Dick Wolf first captured our attention when the original Law & Order arrived on the scene. First appearing on NBC in 1990, and starring Chris Noth, Sam Waterston, and Jerry Orbach, it followed the story of a group of New York City homicide detectives whose lives were almost as complicated as their day jobs. The show was a critical and audience hit, and ran all the way into 2010, with some cast changes along the way.
The show was such a success that it soon developed concurrently-running spinoffs. Law & Order: Criminal Minds began in 2001, starred Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe, and ran until 2011. Law & Order-Special Victims Unit (SVU) was another addition to the series, and quickly became possibly the most-recognized and followed. It premiered in 1999, and is still going strong today. The show stars Mariska Hargitay, Chris Meloni, and Ice-T. Although similar to the other long-running Law & Order series, some cast changes have taken place over the years.
A more recent addition to the Law & Order family is Law & Order-Organized Crime, which stars Chris Meloni, who plays Detective Elliot Stabler, formerly of Law & Order SVU. There is an ongoing crossover between the two show’s storylines, so the (alleged) lovebirds Detective Stabler and Sgt. Olivia Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay, get lots of onscreen time together. With four concurrent and overlapping Law & Order shows running for 20-plus seasons, and all reaching new heights of critical acclaim, we think it’s safe to say that Dick Wolf really knows his stuff.
Yes, when it comes to the criminal mind, there are few who seem to understand it with as much depth as Dick Wolf. Now he is putting his insight into action yet again, by bringing us a brand new series that deals with the number one motive for murder: money. Dick Wolf’s latest masterpiece, Blood and Money, follows some of the most notorious crimes “ripped from the headlines,”to uncover if and how money was the real motive behind the mayhem. The show is available to stream on NBC, and the first episode aired in March of this year.
The non-fictionalized true crime series re-examines such infamous cases as that of bizarre multimillionaire Robert Durst and his decades-long crime spree that included three alleged murders, all with the same motive — money.
It also delves into the notorious case of the Menendez brothers, two young men from a wealthy Beverly Hills family accused of killing their parents in cold blood. The episode explores whether money was indeed the motive as assumed, or if there was, in fact, something far more sinister going on in the Menendez home. These cases are among many others the series takes on in its quest to find the truth behind the seeming money-motivated murders.
Blood & Money is presented with the chillingly suspenseful approach that Dick Wolf is so well known for, but this time applied in a non-fiction, tue crime format; no actors here, just real detectives. However, here’s a bonus: it includes the musical gavel sound featured in Law & Order! Yes, Dick Wolf is certainly in his “criminal” element with this new series, and if his previous shows have been any indicator, we are willing to bet this one will also be destined for great things.
