Back in 2010, NBC cancelled the Law & Order series but revived it 11 years later, in 2021. The network has now devoted a whole night to the franchise, and all three shows perform well in the ratings. Could NBC cancel Law & Order again, or is this crime drama sure to be renewed for a 23rd season? Stay tuned.
A procedural series, the Law & Order TV show stars Sam Waterston, Jeffrey Donovan, Camryn Manheim, Hugh Dancy, Odelya Halevi, and Mehcad Brooks. Set in New York City, stories follow the police who investigate crimes and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. The characters include District Attorney Jack McCoy (Waterson), Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun (Odelya), Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price (Dancy), Lieutenant Kate Dixon (Manheim), Detective Frank Cosgrove (Donovan), and Junior Detective Jalen Shaw (Brooks). Stories are often based on real cases and episodes are split between a criminal investigation and the trial that follows.
The ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s chances of staying on the air. The higher the ratings, the better the chances of survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available.
1/27 update: You can see the latest night’s ratings in context.
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For comparisons: Season 21 of Law & Order on NBC averaged a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 4.32 million viewers.
Note: These are the final national ratings, including all live+same day viewing and DVR playback (through 3:00 AM). Early fast affiliate ratings (estimates) are indicated with an “*”. While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. There can be other economic factors involved in a show’s fate, but typically the higher-rated series are renewed and the lower-rated ones are cancelled.
What do you think? Do you like the Law & Order TV series on NBC? Should it be cancelled or renewed for a 23rd season?