But this leaves little room for long-term development especially with frequently rotating casts. There’s a comforting familiarity in the rhythms of the series (despite all the murder). Over time, Law & Order’s greatest appeal - predictability - proved to be its biggest obstacle. The TV behemoth came to influence not only the various Law & Order spinoffs (including Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent, Trial by Jury, LA, and Organized Crime) but police procedurals as a whole for years to come. While the split “Law” and “Order” format of the show - detective work in the first half, prosecutorial action in the second - was originally created in an effort to sell syndication rights for an hourlong show to traditionally 30-minute-block networks (per Wolf’s 2003 book, Law & Order: Crime Scenes), the formula quickly became an essential part of the franchise’s gimmick. Created by Dick Wolf, the series offered an in-depth look at the New York City criminal-justice system with “ripped from the headlines” story lines. When Law & Order premiered on a quiet Thursday night in 1990, the show was fairly unassuming.
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