There will be more “Law & Order” on TV when NBC launches a spinoff of “Law & Order: SVU,” likely next year.
From Dick Wolf and former “SVU” showrunner Warren Leight, the seventh and latest series in the venerable franchise is “Law & Order: Hate Crimes,” based on the Hate Crimes Task Force in New York City. The spinoff’s characters will be introduced in an episode of “SVU” in the latter part of the season.
“As ‘Law & Order: SVU’ enters its remarkable 20th season, it is exciting to get back into business with Dick Wolf on a new ‘Law & Order’ incarnation that feels extremely timely,” said Lisa Katz, Co-President of Scripted Programming at NBC. “Considering that last year there was a double-digit rise in hate crimes in our 10 largest cities — the highest total in over a decade — it seemed like this topic is begging to be explored.”
“As with all of my crime shows, I want to depict what’s really going on in our cities and shine a light on the wide-ranging victims and show that justice can prevail,” Wolf said. “Twenty years ago when ‘SVU’ began, very few people felt comfortable coming forward and reporting these crimes, but when you bring the stories into people’s living rooms…a real dialogue can begin. That’s what I hope we can do with this new show in a world where hate crimes have reached an egregious level.”
The real Hate Crimes Task Force works under the Special Victims Unit, so expect lots of crossover with both “Law & Order” shows.
