CAIRO – 13 September 2017: One of America’s longest-running crime shows, “Law & Order”, premiered on NBC on this day in history, September 13, in 1990. A huge commercial and critical success, the show went on to become a staple of popular culture with numerous spin-offs.
Created by Dick Wolf, the show follows both the police in New York who investigated crimes to the prosecutors in courts, following every step of a crime from investigation to trial. It was originally based on real life crimes, but later took more artistic liberty. The series had a successful and long run on NBC, running for over 20 seasons. It is one of the longest running American TV series, after “The Simpsons”.
The show is renowned for its opening narration, featuring a unique clanging sound;
The show’s cast was not fixed through its entire run, and has featured big names such as Julia Roberts and Samuel L. Jackson. Amongst the show’s most prominent cast members were Jerry Orbach, who portrayed detective Lennie Brisco until 2004, Sam Waterson as district attorney Jack McCoy since 1993 and S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren since 1993.
The show’s first spin-off, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” premiered on September 20, 1999 and focused primarily on sexual crimes. It originally starred Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni and later featured rapper Ice T as one of the main characters.
Other spinoffs include “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” in 2001 and “Law & Order: Trial by Jury” in 2005. The latter was amongst the shortest lived spinoff shows, lasting for only one season. In 1998, a TV film was even made, titled “Exiled: a Law & Order Movie.” It won two awards, including an Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Television Feature or Miniseries.
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