NY Times Talks 'Law & Order' Cancellation

Yesterday, The New York Times reported that NBC had confirmed the cancellation of 'Law & Order.' The epic crime drama has been in production in New York City since 1990. 'Law & Order' will finish its 20th season on May 24.

A new NY Times piece discusses the impact the show has had on local businesses and performers.

Katherine Oliver, the commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting, said that every year the show provided jobs to about 4,000 people, including one-day acting roles. Its spending totaled about $79 million annually, she said, including things like coffee and bagels, boom microphones and duct tape. During its 20-year run, that impact amounted to as much as $1 billion or more, she said.

Jan Maxwell, a longtime New York theater actress who has been nominated for two Tony Awards this season, recalled fondly that she played murderers in her three appearances on “Law & Order” during the 1990s: one killed women with breast cancer, one killed her husband’s lover and one was a judge who killed a woman who caught Ms. Maxwell’s character taking kickbacks.

“The writing was decent enough so you didn’t feel like shoving a knife into your head when you got home,” Ms. Maxwell said. “And the money was helpful to have in between theater jobs. A lot of us counted on ‘Law & Order’: It was built on the back of theater actors in New York.”

NBC has renewed the 'Law & Order' offspring 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' for its 12th season, NBC also announced its new series 'Law & Order: Los Angeles.'

According to Deadline.com Dick Wolf, the creator of the Law & Order franchise, is furious with this decision, and was threatening to take the show to TNT, before the official announcement was made. The chairman of NBC, Jeff Gaspin said this of Wolf "The full measure of the collective contributions made by Dick Wolf and his ‘Law & Order' franchise over the last two decades to the success of NBC and Universal Media Studios cannot be overstated. The legacy of his original ‘Law & Order' series will continue to make an impact like no other series before."

The current cast of 'Law & Order' includes S. Epatha Merkerson, Sam Waterson, Anthony Anderson, Jeremy Sisto, Linus Roache and Alana De LA Garza. Past cast members include Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, Chris Noth, Benjamin Bratt, Elisabeth Rohm, Angie Harmon, and Jill Hennessy amoung others. Not to mention the hundreds to actors who have guest starred in episodes over the years.

NYT estimates that over 8,000 people in New York City are emplyed by the series and its spinoffs.

For more information visit http://www.nbc.com/