Law & Order

American police procedural and legal drama television series

Law & Order is an American television show and it originally aired on NBC from September 13, 1990 to May 24, 2010. It is a police procedural and legal drama. It's the longest primetime crime drama show in America. Season 0 (Pre-1) (Pilot) could've been aired in 1988. A revival was aired in 2022.

Law & Order
Genre
Created byDick Wolf
Starring
Theme music composerMike Post
Opening themeTheme of Law & Order
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons22
No. of episodes488
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
Showrunners
Production location(s)New York City
Camera setupPanaflex Cameras
Running time40–48 minutes
Production company(s)
  • Wolf Entertainment
  • Universal Television
    (1990–98, 2022–present)
    (seasons 1–8, 21–present)
  • Studios USA
    (1998–2002)
    (seasons 9–12)
  • Universal Network Television
    (2002–04)
    (seasons 13–14)
  • NBC Universal Television Studio
    (2004–07)
    (seasons 15–17)
  • Universal Media Studios
    (2008–10)
    (seasons 18–20)
DistributorNBCUniversal Syndication Studios
Release
Original networkNBC
Picture format
Audio formatStereo
Original releaseOriginal series:
September 13, 1990 (1990-09-13) –
May 24, 2010 (2010-05-24)
Revival series:
February 24, 2022 (2022-02-24) – present (present)
Chronology
Related showsLaw & Order franchise
Other websites
Law & Order at nbc.com

Many of the crimes in the episodes were "ripped from the headlines", meaning they were based on crimes that really happened. Episodes of the show were usually split into two parts. The first part would show the crime, the police looking for the suspect (the person they think did the crime), and the suspect being arrested. This is the "Law" part. The second part, the "Order" part, would show the trial and whether or not the suspect did the crime.

Cast Edit