 | | 03-03-2004, 04:11 PM |
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#23
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Master Fan
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 13,040
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From Zap2it:
Quote:
NBC: New 'Law & Order' Franchise Coming Next Season
(Wednesday, March 03 11:49 AM)
By Daniel Fienberg
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Though a possible fourth installment of Dick Wolf's powerful "Law & Order" series isn't on NBC's development slate for the fall season, the network remains confident that a new permutation of the franchise will be ready to debut sometime next year.
NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker tells reporters that due to the network's commitment to year-round programming, even if a fall launch is impossible, but there will be no reservations launching a new "Law & Order" outside of the traditional September or October period.
While Zucker won't give specifics on what brand of law and/or order the latest incarnation would cover, but it sounds as if ideas have been bandied about.
"With regards to the fourth edition, it's a pretty unique twist on the franchise and it's significantly different from any of the first three," he says. "As we've said all along, these are four different shows, each unique. 'SVU' is as different from 'Law & Order' as 'Criminal Intent' is as different from 'SVU' as any of the other procedural crime dramas anywhere else."
Zucker also scoffs at the notion that the marketplace has already reached a saturation point with Wolf's brand of compelling, but formulaic drama.
"This franchise is hotter than it's ever been," he insists.
The original "Law & Order" is down nearly 2 million viewers per night from the same time last season (16.2 million vs. 18 million), but Zucker attributes that dip to an even large decline in audience for the show's "West Wing" lead-in.
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" has dipped from 15.2 million viewers last year at this time to 12.8 million, but the show has survived a move from Friday nights and still regularly wins its Tuesday night 10 p.m. ET time slot.
Sunday night stalwart "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" has seen the lowest level of viewer attrition, falling from 14.6 million to 13.2 million, perhaps the victim of the renewed strength of CBS' Sunday movie franchise.
All three entries play strongly in reruns, syndication and during the doldrums of the summer and all three have been successful in retaining viewers in the adult 18-49 demographic that NBC craves.
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NBC should be called NBC: The Law and Order network. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] |
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