The upcoming Law & Order spinoff series, Law & Order: Organized Crime, has halted its production for its first season due to a positive COVID-19 test within a grouping that includes the actors for the series, via Deadline. The spinoff series was identified within NBC COVID-19 protocols and members of production and actors have been instructed to quarantine following their contract tracing system. It is unknown when the series will be able to resume its production following this delay. 

Law & Order: Organized Crime will see the return of Christopher Meloni’s (Oz) SVU character NYPD detective Elliot Stabler, now operating within a unit that combats organized crime within the Big Apple. Stabler was one of the feature detectives alongside Detective Benson on Law & Order: SVU for the first twelve seasons, from 1999 to 2011, before he departed the series ahead of the thirteenth season premiere. This new spinoff series will pick up on Stabler’s life after a personal tragedy that ignites him to rejoin the NYPD force to tackle organized crime bosses and their criminal associates. 

Law & Order: Organized Crime was expected to premiere on April 1 and this delay will reportedly not affect this pre-arranged date, according to Deadline. The series will premiere its first episode at 10 PM EST following the airing of a new SVU episode at 9 PM EST on NBC. The new spinoff hails from Dick Wolf (Law & Order). The series cast also features Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story) and Tamara Taylor (Bones).