Law & Order

*Law & Order*
Law & Order
	The typeface used in the series title card, Friz Quadrata, is used in the identifying sign of 1 Police Plaza, headquarters of the NYPD
Genre	Police procedural; Legal drama; Mystery;
Created by	Dick Wolf
Showrunners	Walon Green (1993–1994, 2004–2006); Michael S. Chernuchin (1994–1996, 2002–2004); René Balcer (1996–2000, 2008–2010); William M. Finkelstein (2000–2001); Arthur Penn (2000–2001); Barry Schindel (2001–2002); Nicholas Wootton (2006–2007); Rick Eid (2022–present);
Starring	George Dzundza; Chris Noth; Dann Florek; Michael Moriarty; Richard Brooks; Steven Hill; Paul Sorvino; Carolyn McCormick; Jerry Orbach; S. Epatha Merkerson; Jill Hennessy; Sam Waterston; Benjamin Bratt; Carey Lowell; Angie Harmon; Jesse L. Martin; Dianne Wiest; Elisabeth Röhm; Fred Dalton Thompson; Dennis Farina; Annie Parisse; Michael Imperioli; Milena Govich; Alana de la Garza; Jeremy Sisto; Linus Roache; Anthony Anderson; Jeffrey Donovan; Camryn Manheim; Hugh Dancy; Odelya Halevi; Mehcad Brooks; Reid Scott; Tony Goldwyn; Maura Tierney;
Theme music composer	Mike Post
Opening theme	"Theme of Law & Order"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	24
No. of episodes	523 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Dick Wolf; Joseph Stern (1990–1993); Ed Sherin (1993–2000); Peter Jankowski (2001–present); Matthew Penn (2003–2007); Fred Berner (2008–2010); Arthur W. Forney (2022–present);
Producers	Lorenzo Carcaterra (2003–2004); Aaron Zelman (2003–2004); Nick Santora (2004–2005); Lois Johnson (2004–2005); Greg Plageman (2005–2006); Christopher Ambrose (2008–2010);
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	40–48 minutes
Production companies	Wolf Entertainment; Universal Television;
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 13, 1990 –; May 24, 2010
Release	February 24, 2022 –; present
Related
	Law & Order (franchise)

Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the Law & Order franchise.

Law & Order aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on September 13, 1990, and completing its 20th season on May 24, 2010. On September 28, 2021, after an 11-year hiatus, NBC announced that the series would be revived for a 21st season, which premiered on February 24, 2022. The revival saw the debut of new regular cast members, and the reprise of two roles by series veterans: District Attorney Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), and Detective Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson). Afterwards, the series was renewed for three additional seasons. In May 2025, it was announced the series had been renewed for its twenty-fifth season.

Set and filmed in New York City, the series follows a two-part approach: the first half-hour is the investigation of a crime (usually murder) and apprehension of a suspect by New York City Police Department homicide detectives, while the second half is the prosecution of the defendant by the Manhattan district attorney's office. Plots are based on real cases that recently made headlines, although the motivation for the crime and the perpetrator may be much different.

The show started using revolving door casting in season two. The progression of the record for longest serving main cast members of the series is: Jerry Orbach as Detective Lennie Briscoe (1992–2004; 12 seasons), S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren (1993–2010; 17 seasons) and Sam Waterston as Executive Assistant District Attorney/District Attorney Jack McCoy (1994–2010, 2022–2024; 19 seasons).

Law & Order's 24 seasons are second only to its spin off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present) for the longest-running live action scripted American primetime series. The success of the series has led to the creation of additional shows, making Law & Order a franchise, including a television film, several video games, and international adaptations of the series. It has won and has been nominated for numerous awards over the years, including a number of Emmy Awards.

Law & Order
The typeface used in the series title card, Friz Quadrata, is used in the identifying sign of 1 Police Plaza, headquarters of the NYPD
Genre	Police procedural Legal drama Mystery
Created by	Dick Wolf
Showrunners	Walon Green (1993–1994, 2004–2006) Michael S. Chernuchin (1994–1996, 2002–2004) René Balcer (1996–2000, 2008–2010) William M. Finkelstein (2000–2001) Arthur Penn (2000–2001) Barry Schindel (2001–2002) Nicholas Wootton (2006–2007) Rick Eid (2022–present)
Starring	George Dzundza Chris Noth Dann Florek Michael Moriarty Richard Brooks Steven Hill Paul Sorvino Carolyn McCormick Jerry Orbach S. Epatha Merkerson Jill Hennessy Sam Waterston Benjamin Bratt Carey Lowell Angie Harmon Jesse L. Martin Dianne Wiest Elisabeth Röhm Fred Dalton Thompson Dennis Farina Annie Parisse Michael Imperioli Milena Govich Alana de la Garza Jeremy Sisto Linus Roache Anthony Anderson Jeffrey Donovan Camryn Manheim Hugh Dancy Odelya Halevi Mehcad Brooks Reid Scott Tony Goldwyn Maura Tierney
Theme music composer	Mike Post
Opening theme	"Theme of Law & Order"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	24
No. of episodes	523 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Dick Wolf Joseph Stern (1990–1993) Ed Sherin (1993–2000) Peter Jankowski (2001–present) Matthew Penn (2003–2007) Fred Berner (2008–2010) Arthur W. Forney (2022–present)
Producers	Lorenzo Carcaterra (2003–2004) Aaron Zelman (2003–2004) Nick Santora (2004–2005) Lois Johnson (2004–2005) Greg Plageman (2005–2006) Christopher Ambrose (2008–2010)
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	40–48 minutes
Production companies	Wolf Entertainment Universal Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 13, 1990 (1990-09-13) – May 24, 2010 (2010-05-24)
Release	February 24, 2022 (2022-02-24) – present
Related
Law & Order (franchise)