Law Ordered to Basic Cable?

Wed., May. 9, 2007 11:26 AM PDT by Gina Serpe

NBC may soon be saying buh-bye to the bum-bum.

With just a week until the Peacock network reveals its fall schedule, there's word that the Law & Order "mothership" may be jumping ship to TNT.

NBC Universal and Wolf Films, the producers of the long-running, franchise-spawning prime-time stalwart, are in talks with the basic cable network to pick up either, or possibly both, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

"Negotiations are ongoing regarding Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent and, as always, we do not comment on negotiation," Dick Wolf said in a statement.

A rep for TNT, meanwhile, says, "We don't comment on speculation."

The move appears to be a last-ditch effort to keep Law & Order from being canceled. Now in its 17th season, the formerly dominant procedural has struggled ratings-wise in recent years. But Wolf is apparently willing to make concessions to enable his brainchild to surpass Gunsmoke's 20-year run to become the longest running show in prime-time history, one of his oft-repeated desires.

The pickup, should it occur, would come with a price—a much, much lower one.

TNT is apparently targeting a truncated 18th season—13 versus the standard 22—to cut production costs. The basic cable network would also require Wolf & Co. to dramatically reduce other per episode expenses to make the pick up a more economically viable option. In exchange, TNT would offer producers more creative freedom.

Even if Wolf balks at the TNT parameters, he's facing some serious budget trimming if he wants to keep the original series going.

According to Broadcasting & Cable, if NBC opts to keep Law & Order in its Friday night graveyard slot, the network is demanding the show's annual costs be pared down by $11 million. Over the years, the show's price tag has ballooned to about $4 million per episode and it would require a $500,000 per episode drop to keep it on NBC.

The trade publication reports that TNT, which currently runs an average of 28 hours of Law & Order, Criminal Intent and Special Victims Unit reruns a week, approached NBC about the pickup several months ago. But the offer has reportedly gained traction in recent weeks as NBC has considered dropping the flailing series in lieu of fresh drama programming.

According to Variety, NBC was initially planning to shelve Law & Order: Criminal Intent but keep Law & Order on the prime-time roster, though in recent weeks the network has reportedly flip-flopped its mindset. Variety reports that now it appears NBC will reup for CI and SVU, the sole franchise player to already be granted a renewal for next fall, come next Tuesday's upfronts, leaving the original Law & Order out in the cable cold.

NBC execs apparently don't want to completely kill off a show that has been a cornerstone of the network's lineup for nearly two decades and remains lucrative in syndication and video. The Law & Order franchise's estimated value is a staggering $3 billion.

As it is, the Jack McCoy-led cops-and-lawyers brigade has been averaging just 9.0 million viewers this year, losing nearly a fifth of its audience after getting shuffled from Wednesday night to its current spot in Friday's no-man's land. Law & Order: CI, meanwhile, has fared even worse, averaging a franchise low 8.8 million.