Law & Order In Jeopardy

Fox News is reporting that LAW AND ORDER could be facing the ax…and that there are big shake-ups happening on both sides of the camera. For one thing, Annie Parisse has abruptly quit as the A.D.A. and, according to Fox, Dick Wolf is having trouble recasting when word-on-the-street is that the show maynot be coming back. They also report that S. Epatha Mekerson walked off of a "crossover" episode with L&O:CRIMINAL INTENT in a dispute over how her character was being written.

There’s a significant morale problem, too. Sources say that there
have been "a lot" of firings, including a portion of the camera crew.

"None of the original writer-producers are there anymore," a source
said. "They’ve all been replaced by people from L.A. who don’t get the
show."

[…] If "Law & Order" does get cancelled, or renewed just long enough
to do a finale season, it won’t be a tremendous surprise. Sixteen
years, after all, is twice the length of the run of a regular hit show.
Still, insiders blame the constant reruns on TNT for over-saturating
the brand.

"Even they’re cutting back now," a source said.

NBC declined comment except to say: "It is the producers’ desire to
keep the season finale of ‘Law and Order’ under wraps because of some
surprising developments."

UPDATE 4-28-06: NBC renewed all three LAW & ORDER series today. The jury is still out on CONVICTION.

5 thoughts on “Law & Order In Jeopardy”

  1. Fox News is reporting…
    And of course if we hear it from Fox News, it must be true, since they would certainly never report something that wasn’t accurate.
    PS Is there an emoticon for tongue in cheek?

    Reply
  2. surprising developments
    McCoy’s a lesbian?

    My friend and I still laugh about Elisabeth Röhm’s exit scene. I had it saved for a long time on my computer. Anytime someone says something that makes him or her sound clueless, we look at each other and say: “Is it because I’m a lesbian?”
    It seems to me that the problems noted in the article (except Annie Parisse’s hair, first time I’ve heard about that) have existed for a long time ~~ especially with the writing. I think the quality of the show has drastically declined in the past few years.
    I don’t think that the timeslot (wasn’t L&O on against “Lost” only once?), or over-saturation by repeats on TNT 24/7, or lack of lead-in have as much to do with the declining ratings as the boring, predictable scripts, like the one last night.
    Oh, and Annie Parisse looks too young next to Sam Waterston? I love Sam, but let’s face it: he’s 65 and Annie’s 30 ~~ she looks, shockingly, less than half his age!

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