NBC is making sure fans know Stabler and Benson are standing together.
The network has unveiled the artwork for the upcoming seasons for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime to promote the new “Law & Order Thursdays” to debut this fall.
The new Law & Order block
Interestingly, even when there were three or four Law & Order series airing simultaneously, NBC rarely put them on the same night.
It seemed better for the network to spread the shows out with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on Tuesdays, the mothership Law & Order on Wednesdays and Law & Order: Criminal Intent on Sundays.
There would be the occasional crossover, but NBC seemed content to let the Law & Order shows be on separate nights.
This attitude has changed thanks to the success of TV franchises that air on the same night. CBS saw that with the NCIS shows sharing Tuesdays and all three FBI shows will air on Tuesdays this fall.
Of course, an obvious push was the success of NBC’s One Chicago block with Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med all airing on Wednesday.
This fall was to see a “Law & Order Thursday” with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 23, Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2 and the premiere of the new spin-off Law & Order: For the Defense.
But in July, NBC made the surprising announcement that the For the Defense spin-off was not going ahead. This leaves only two Law & Order shows premiering on September 23, with The Blacklist joining them on October 21.
The new season ads
Thus, instead of a trio of shows, NBC only has two Law & Order series on Thursdays. That’s not stopping them from going ahead with ads promoting the shows “standing together.”
The first is for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 23, featuring Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) with the line “standing for victims.”
The second is Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) for Law & Order: Organized Crime season 2 with the tagline “fighting for truth.”
The final one links the former partners together with the skyline of New York City and the line of “L&O Thursday.”
Besides sharing a night, it appears there will be crossovers between the series. Hargitay shared photos of her and Meloni filming a night scene together.
Not much is known about Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 23, aside from how Hargitay’s recent broken foot will be written into the show.
On-set pictures indicate Season 23 picks up after Finn’s canceled wedding, where Carisi and Rollins finally shared a kiss.
Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2 will have Stabler continuing to clash with corrupt CEO Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott). He’ll also handle a visit from his mother (Ellen Burstyn).
While it won’t be the full-night block NBC or fans hoped for, the new ads show how the two Law & Order series will stand together for a night of powerful drama.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 23 premieres 8/7 EST September 23, followed by the Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2 premiere at 10/9 EST on NBC.