Law & Order (franchise)

Law & Order (franchise)

The Law & Order franchise is a number of related American television series created by Dick Wolf and originally broadcast on NBC, all of which deal with some aspect of the criminal justice system. Together, the original series, its various spin-offs, the TV film, and crossover episodes from other shows constitute over 900 hours of programming.

Shared people and resources in a common fictional setting are the connecting links between the shows, e.g., Hudson University and the New York Ledger tabloid newspaper. Many supporting characters, such as district attorneys, psychologists and medical examiners are also shared among the shows. Occasionally, crossovers of main characters or shared storylines between two of the shows will occur. A few major characters have also left the cast of one show within the franchise only to eventually join another.

The music, style and credits of the shows tend to be similar, with the voiceover in the opening of every series performed by Steven Zirnkilton. Past episodes of the American series are in syndication with TNT, USA Network, WGN America, and Bravo showing episodes sometimes up to six times a day.

In October 2012, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit show runner/executive producer Warren Leight said of the future of the Law & Order franchise, "(Dick Wolf and I) sometimes talk in general terms of where (the franchise) could go. I'm curious to see if there's another iteration somewhere down the line," he says. "We try hard to maintain a certain level of quality which I think is why the shows sustained in reruns so well. And I'd like to believe there's room for another generation in some way."

As of December 5, 2012 (2012 -12-05), 990 original episodes of the Law & Order franchise have aired.