EXECUTIVE PRODUCER DICK WOLF.
Reports are circulating that NBC has ordered a 13-episode pilot season for a new version Law & Order, titled Law & Order: Hate Crimes.
The hugely popular procedural crime drama has already generated six other spin-offs, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. It has been airing in some shape or form since 1990.
Law & Order: Hate Crimes arrives at a time when racial and ethnic tensions are at a boiling point in the United States.
NBC’s co-president of scripted programming, Lisa Katz, called the show “extremely timely,” noting that last year there was a significant rise in hate crimes in America’s 10 largest cities. “It seemed like this topic is begging to be explored,” Katz said.
Wolf, a co-creator of the new series, agreed with this, saying: “As with all of my crime shows, I want to depict what’s really going on in our cities and shine a light on the wide-ranging victims and show that justice can prevail.
“20 years ago when SVU began, very few people felt comfortable coming forward and reporting these crimes, but when you bring the stories into people’s living rooms – with characters as empathetic as Olivia Benson – a real dialogue can begin. That’s what I hope we can do with this new show in a world where hate crimes have reached an egregious level.”
The new show will be set in New York City, though no airdate has been announced yet.
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