Law & Order Spin-Off Organized Crime Renewed At NBC
While the decade-long run of NBC's "Law & Order" has been furthered with a season 22 renewal, the procedural drama's spin-off show, "Law & Order: Organized Crime" is slated to return for season 3 (via Variety).
"Organized Crime" focuses on Elliot Stabler as played by Christopher Meloni, who reprises his role from "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Season 3 of "Organized Crime" will most likely continue the central narrative arc, in which Stabler joins the Organized Crime Task Force in order to solve crimes as a veteran detective.
Stabler is back in the game
The original "Law & Order" has run for 21 seasons so far, and its latest season 22 renewal hints at the fact that the show will continue for quite some time. Jack McCoy and Kevin Bernard are back as staple characters, played by Sam Waterson and Anthony Anderson respectively, and the show will follow the "bifurcated format" of the original, focusing on crime investigators and defense attorneys doing their jobs, often at loggerheads with one another.
"Law & Order: Organized Crime" closely follows Stabler, who returns to the NYPD after his wife Kathy's murder, with the intention of exposing a powerful and illegal enterprise. Other cast members who are set to return in season 3 are Danielle Moné Truitt, who plays Stabler's partner Ayanna, Tamara Taylor plays murder suspect Angela, while the character's husband, Richard Wheatley, played by Dylan McDermott, is involved in the mob and potentially, Kathy's murder.
The rest of the "Organized Crime" cast includes Ainsley Seiger and Nona Parker Johnson, who play novice detectives, now a part of the Organized Crime Control Bureau. The renewal of season 3 comes as no surprise, as the first two seasons performed fairly well, with season 2 garnering an average of 5.5 million viewers. The "Law & Order" franchise, as a whole, seems to be ever-expanding, as "Law & Order: SVU" was recently renewed for season 24.
Lisa Katz, president of scripted programming for NBCU Entertainment and Streaming, was enthusiastic about the various renewals in the franchise, including "Organized Crime:"
"The iconic 'Law & Order' brand has long been synonymous with NBC and we couldn't be more excited to bring back all three of these dramas for the 2022-23 season. It's a testament to the brilliance of Dick Wolf's storytelling that audiences remain compelled by these unforgettable characters week after week, year after year."
A release date for season 3 of "Law & Order: Organized Crime" has not been officially revealed at the moment.