Law & Order: Organized Crime isn't canceled yet (why wasn't it renewed?)
Law & Order: Organized Crime is the only Dick Wolf show on NBC not renewed. Why is that? We take a look at the possible answers.
With five out of six Dick Wolf shows renewed by NBC, all eyes are on the reasoning behind one getting left on the bubble. Law & Order: Organized Crime hasn’t been renewed, but it at least hasn’t been canceled either.
The series is currently in its fourth season. It was renewed with the other five shows last year, although there was bad news in that it would be shorter than the others. At least, that’s the way it would have worked out had the strike action not taken place in the summer and so many shows heavily delayed.
This time, the series hasn’t been renewed at all. So, what’s going on? Are we going to lose the Christopher Meloni series?
Why wasn’t Law & Order: Organized Crime renewed?
According to TVLine, the series and NBC are “still in discussion” about the new season. This could suggest that the series needs to show a compelling storyline or that there are talks about ways to reduce costs further.
The cost of TV is a problem for the networks right now. It was one of the reasons to reduce the season order for Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 to 13 episodes in the first place. We could end up seeing another reduction to 10 episodes, matching the first season. Shorter seasons work better for a series like Organized Crime, anyway. While the other Dick Wolf shows are procedural and have cases-of-the-week formats, Organized Crime is more serialized and can’t have filler episodes.
What are the chances of more Christopher Meloni’s Elliot Stabler?
When looking at the linear ratings, the lack of renewal doesn’t make a lot of sense. Law & Order: Organized Crime is the lowest rated out of the six Dick Wolf shows, but it is still one of the strongest shows on the network overall. Found and The Irrational have both been renewed but are lower than Organized Crime.
It does suggest that it’s linked more to the storylines and the format of the series. This show wouldn’t work with losing a cast member here and there throughout the series as a cost-cutting measure, which means reducing episode counts is the best option. That means working things out with the storyline.
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Law & Order: Organized Crime currently airs on Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC.