Behind the 11th Hour Renewal for ‘Law & Order’ Season 26
The detectives and prosecutors of Law & Order will remain on the job for another season.
NBC has renewed the long-running drama for a 26th installment in 2026-27, and the sixth season since L&O was revived in 2022. The pickup comes later than usual for Law & Order — the official word comes just before the start of NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation Monday. Its spinoff Law & Order: SVU was renewed in mid-April, and NBC’s three Chicago dramas — which, like the L&O franchise, come from Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment — earned pickups near the end of March.
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Law & Order will remain on Thursdays in NBC’s schedule for next season, but it’s moving from 8 to 10 p.m. — following rather than preceding SVU. A civilian version of The Traitors will lead off Thursdays in the fall.
The delay in renewing Law & Order came down to budget discussions and finding a place on the schedule, said Lisa Katz, president scripted content for NBC and Peacock.
“It’s funny that people were saying it was a bubble show,” Katz told reporters on a call about the 2026-27 schedule. “We love the show. We love the [Law & Order] block. It was very much a puzzle of figuring out what went where, and we have civilian Traitors coming in the fall. So it was just trying to put all the pieces [together] and figure out how many episodes and when they would come. But we’re very excited to have it back.”
Law & Order continues to be a reliable performer for NBC, averaging 4.75 million viewers this season with seven days of linear viewing. On streaming, the show (including its huge library on Peacock and Hulu) is a regular presence in Nielsen’s top 10 streaming charts; it has made the acquired series top 10 in 25 of the past 35 weeks.
Law & Order stars Reid Scott, David Ajala and Maura Tierney on the NYPD side of the show and Hugh Dancy, Odelya Halevi and Tony Goldwyn as the prosecutor team.
Universal Television produces the series in association with Wolf Entertainment. Wolf executive produces with Rick Eid, Alex Hall and Peter Jankowski.
With Law & Order renewed, one NBC show is still in limbo. The network still hasn’t made a decision on second-year drama The Hunting Party, which underperformed its first season somewhat. Katz said NBC likes the show’s creative direction, but its lack of a place on the schedule for now comes down to looking for potential growth with new shows.
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