The Untold Truth Of Law & Order - Looper
"Law & Order" is an undeniable titan of television. The original show, which ran on NBC for 20 seasons and 456 episodes, is inescapable in its influence on TV and popular culture. Every episode delivers a dramatic one-two punch of hard-boiled New York City legal action. The show's premise is simple: the first half of the program follows detectives; the second half follows the courts. But at the time of its initial release in 1990, this was a novel concept.
The show is so ubiquitous today, with multiple spinoffs airing on network television, in syndication and on streaming platforms, it might surprise you that "Law & Order” had humble beginnings just like any other television show. In fact, the success of "Law & Order ” was never promised and it faced its own crossroads of cancellation.
In the television network system, two separate yet equally important groups typically represent shows: the creatives who make the shows and the executives who program them. These are the untold truths of "Law & Order" (dun-dun).
Law & Order almost had a different name
The title "Law & Order" is brilliant in its simplicity, but the show's name was almost something quite different. In 1988, Dick Wolf, a former ad man-turned-screenwriter, had the idea for a show called "Night and Day." In the book "Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion," Wolf shares that "Night and Day" was one of several titles he toyed with for his television show idea. He also told Forbes he developed the show using the more crass title "Catch 'Em and Cook 'Em." "Law and Order" had already been used for several westerns, including a '50s film starring future president Ronald Reagan, but Wolf's show had no spurs or 10-gallon Stetson hats. It was all about the gritty, crime-ridden streets of contemporary New York City. Unrelated TV shows and films can often have the same title, with some even sharing the same contemporary release windows. There was little concern about confusing an old B-movie western with a glossy weekly television show, and thus the title "Law & Order" stayed.
The show had an old formula with a new twist
By the late '80s, crime procedurals were already nothing new to TV. Shows like "Dragnet," "Naked City," and "Perry Mason" followed the daily travails of police apprehending criminals and the defense attorneys tasked with representing the suspects. Characters like the no-nonsense Sgt. Joe "Just the Facts, Ma'am" Friday and clever defense attorneys like white-suited Ben Matlock became pop culture icons. However, Wolf's original idea was to bring a new twist to an old formula. He wanted to include a focus on the prosecution, something that had never been done in a legal show. The structure was simple: the first half of the show followed New York City detectives; the second half took place in the district attorney's office and the courts. "Law & Order" never deviated from this formula. As Wolf said in "Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion," this gave the show "structural integrity," making it "unsullied" to viewers even after long periods away from viewing.
source: https://www.looper.com/712420/the-untold-truth-of-law-order/
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