Law & Order is a media franchise composed of a number of related American television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment. They were originally broadcast on NBC, and all of them deal with some aspect of the criminal justice system. Together, the original series, its various spin-offs, the TV film, and crossover episodes from other shows constitute over 1,000 hours of programming.
Shared characters and fictional organizations, such as Hudson University and the New York Ledger tabloid newspaper, serve as connecting links between the shows. Many supporting characters, such as district attorneys, psychologists, and medical examiners are also shared among the shows. Occasionally, crossovers of main characters or shared storylines between two of the shows will occur. A few major characters have also left the cast of one show within the franchise only to eventually join another. The music, style, and credits of the shows tend to be similar, with the voiceover in the opening of every series performed by Steven Zirnkilton.[1][2] The shows share the iconic "dun, dun" sound effect of a jail cell locking, created, along with the theme songs, by Mike Post.[3] Past episodes of the American series are in syndication with local over-the-air stations, along with cable channels such as USA Network and Bravo (both owned by the franchise's production company, NBCUniversal), TNT, WGN America, Ion Television, and AMC Networks' SundanceTV and WeTV, showing episodes sometimes up to six times a day.
The Law & Order "dun, dun" sound
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In October 2012, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit showrunner/executive producer Warren Leight said of the future of the Law & Order franchise, "[Dick Wolf and I] sometimes talk in general terms of where (the franchise) could go. I'm curious to see if there's another iteration somewhere down the line," he says. "We try hard to maintain a certain level of quality which I think is why the shows sustained in reruns so well. And I'd like to believe there's room for another generation in some way."[4] In February 2015, NBC was purported to have interest in bringing back the flagship Law & Order as a limited series.[5] On September 28, 2021, NBC announced that a 21st season had been ordered.[6]
Seven television series make up the Law & Order franchise: Law & Order, Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent, Trial by Jury, LA, True Crime, and Organized Crime. All series in total amount to 1,316 episodes across 62 seasons of television.
