NBC has struck a rich deal (ching-ching!) with Dick Wolf will keep his three LAW AND ORDER shows on the air for at least two more seasons… and bring a fourth LAW AND ORDER show to the network by midseason. Dick Wolf owns so much NBC real estate, pretty soon the network itself will become part of his franchise (ching-ching!). From www.variety.com:
It didn’t take new conglom NBC Universal long to lock up its most valuable employee: Dick Wolf has sealed a deal that keeps the “Law & Order” bossman firmly entrenched there through June 2008.
As part of the deal, NBC has also picked up Wolf’s “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” through the 2005-06 season. And the fourth installment of the “Law & Order” franchise, “Trial by Jury,” is now officially on the boards and will likely premiere sometime next midseason.
All told, the Wolf pact — which the Peacock had been anxious to finalize prior to next week’s upfront presentations — could be worth well north of $1 billion (Daily Variety, May 4). That includes Wolf’s fees, as well as the license deals for all four shows.
CBS seems headed in the same direction. CSI: CBS has ordered CSI: NEW YORK for next season. The pilot airs next month as an episode of CSI: MIAMI.
Can CSI: YES DEAR be far behind?
Lee, I think you’ve touched on an excellent idea: CSI: Yes Dear. If the entire cast were brutally killed, it would not only improve the show, but would make it funnier by a wide margin. I’d kill that guy from Boston Commons first, but that’s just me. I’m just thinking out loud here, but I’m willing to bet CBS could get Lee Horsely to be the hardened forensics guy.
Coming in Fall 2007 to NBC (A Dick Wolfe Enterprise):
Law & Order: Traffic Management
Law & Order: Parking Attendants
Law & Order: Jay Walking Task Force
Law & Order: Everybody Loves Briscoe
Star Trek: Law & Order
Don’t forget this one:
Law & Order: At the Donut Shop
(and please, every time CSI: New York gets brought up, I cringe. Though I’ll be watching that premiere episode with eagle eyes, that is for sure. As will the rest of the NYC forensic science community, I suspect…)
I’m waiting for CSI: Hazzard County
Lee, I read with interest your post a while back about the “CSI-ification” of cop shows (and non-cop shows). I just don’t get it.
I really wanted to like the CSI shows. I like Marg Helgenberger (‘loved her on China Beach years ago) so was all set to like CSI. But, the show just never clicked. It seemed too preachy. I watched the first 4 or 5 episodes before giving up. There was at least one scene during any given episode where the lead investigator went into “now, class, look how smart I am” mode. It drove me nuts. It was sooooo fake and preachy. Then, CSI: Miami came along and I decided I’d try again. I like David Caruso well enough but he’s even worse! And, now we’re getting CSI: New York. Gary Sinise and Melina Kanakaredes. What’s not to like? I watched CSI: Miami tonight to see if there was a chance I might like the CSI: NY show. Eh. I don’t think I’ll like it. I’ll give it a shot in the fall but, again, I don’t think I’ll be sticking around. I much prefer the Law & Order franchise. Although, to be honest, L&O: CI doesn’t do much for me.
Ah well…to each his own. I just worry that *my* own if fast fading away from the TV canvas.
How can I get in touch with Dick Wolfe, the honcho of Law and Order?
I would like to ask him if Fontana is or was on the the ‘take’. The man has clothing that only the ‘Prince of the City” could afford and carries a wad of dough and drives a luxury car that regular cops wish they could. Was he a former narc/vise cop. or did he inherit his money from his “compare” from the Chicago Outfit?