According to Deadline, NBC has renewed Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for their 25th and 27th seasons, respectively. The series renewals were reportedly never in doubt.
The network’s mainstays are currently having their best seasons on Peacock, with a combined 44 million viewers across platforms this season, according to Deadline. SVU currently occupies the top spot as Peacock’s most-watched series. The series also recently made co-executive producer Michele Fazekas (Gen V, Reaper) showrunner, making her the first woman to run the longstanding drama, according to Deadline.
However, the renewal is not without caveats. Deadline reports budget cuts abound in the current economic climate, and the Law & Order series are not immune despite their reasonable price. Each episode reportedly costs between $5 million – $ 6 million, which is quite lean for a drama of this kind. Despite this, the series has undergone some cost-cutting, including the departure of SVU series regulars Juliana Martinez (Griselda, Strangers on A Beach) and Octavio Pisano (Coyote, Presence) after just one and three seasons, respectively.
With a large portion of Law & Order’s budget tied up in its star-studded cast, including Tony Goldwyn (The 6th Day, The Last Samurai), Hugh Dancy (Hannibal, Martha Marcy May Marlene), and Maura Tierney (ER, Liar Liar), the show is likely to face cuts including a reduction in episodes each actor appears in as well as salary cuts and no year-to-year pay raises, according to Deadline.
Law & Order, executive produced by Dick Wolf (FBI, Chicago P.D.), Rick Eid (FBI, Chicago P.D.), Pamela Wechsler (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Bull), Alex Hall (The Wire, True Detective) and Peter Jankowski (FBI: Most Wanted, Chicago P.D.), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, executive produced by Wolf, David Graziano (Day Break, Coyote), Julie Martin (Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Mariska Hargitay (Chicago P.D. Law & Order: Organized Crime), Norberto Barba (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Event), Kenneth Brown (Chicago Fire, Law & Order: Criminal Intent), and Jankowski both join the three Chicago series as well as recently renewed comedies St. Denis Medical and Happy’s Place for the upcoming season.