The good news: Law & Order: Organized Crime will be back for a fifth season. But it won’t be airing with the other two Law & Orders, the original and SVU, on Thursday nights on NBC anymore.
Instead, as was rumored before it became official in May, the Christopher Meloni-led spinoff is heading to Peacock for its fifth season. The news came just ahead of the Season 4 finale, which ended on a cliffhanger. It can be argued that given how dark and gritty the show is, streaming is the right home for it. But what will be different as a result?
Read on for everything we know about the move, the fifth season, what this means for future crossovers, and more.
Why is Organized Crime moving from NBC to Peacock?
“Organized Crime is a very successful show; this isn’t a show that was on the bubble,” Jeff Bader, President of Program Planning Strategy at NBCUniversal Entertainment, told TVLine in May. “It’s a show that works across the board, and it’s very, very strong on streaming. [Moving Season 5 to Peacock] is a win-win for us — 80 percent of its viewing isn’t in the time period where we schedule it, it’s delayed on Peacock, so it just made sense to move that to free up the time period.” (Found will be taking over that 10/9c time slot on Thursdays.)
Where did Season 4 leave off?
In the finale, the Organized Crime Control Bureau (OCCB) tried to take down arms dealer Julian Emery (Tom Payne), who had a deadly nerve agent, only for him to get away. What’s worse: They may have secured the nerve agent … but as Stabler’s brother Joe Jr. (Michael Trotter), who’s embedded in Emery’s crew and gets on his plane as he flees law enforcement, learns, Emery has a second briefcase of the bio-weapon—and he cuffs it to Joe.
What will Season 5 be about?
There are no specific details yet, but it’s safe to say that it will have some sort of closure at some point to the Emery case as well as continue to follow the detectives of the Organized Crime Control Bureau as they take on New York City’s most vicious and violent criminal syndicates.
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Who is returning for Season 5?
Meloni will be back as Detective Elliot Stabler. Danielle Moné Truitt (Sergeant Ayanna Bell), Ainsley Seiger (Detective Jet Slootmaekers), and Rick Gonzalez (Detective Bobby Reyes) all returned for Season 4, which also introduced Tate Ellington as tech expert Kyle Vargas. But it has yet to be announced if they will all return for the fifth season. The fourth season finale did not set any of them up for an exit, we should note.
Who is the Law & Order: Organized Crime showrunner for Season 5?
There’s been another shakeup behind the scenes. John Shiban was the show’s fifth showrunner, taking over for the fourth season. However, he left early in November, according to Deadline, and after production briefly paused, filming has resumed, with Matt Olmstead, who was originally the showrunner ahead of the series premiere, returning as executive producer and “to help with the remaining scripts.” (He also serves as showrunner and executive producer on FBI: International.)
Other showrunners for the series have included Ilene Chaiken, Barry O’Brien, and Sean Jablonski.
How many episodes will Organized Crime Season 5 be?
Like with most streaming shows, Season 5 will consist of 10 episodes.
When will Season 5 premiere?
That has yet to be announced. It could easily become a midseason show and therefore its finale could line up with SVU‘s in case there are, say, any major crossover moments. But that’s a big if, because speaking of…
Will there be any more SVU & Organized Crime crossovers?
Yes! Mariska Hargitay, who plays Captain Olivia Benson on SVU, will reportedly be making an appearance on the series, possibly in an episode penned by Christopher Meloni himself! People reported that Meloni’s scribe skills will come into play in Episode 2, and he said, “I know [Olivia] Benson will be with OC for a moment there.” He added that her appearance will, “Hopefully, uncover, peel away a little bit more of the onion or uncover a little more depth of feeling between them.”
Hargitay previously told Variety in May she was “planning on” crossovers, despite the change. “I just told him the other day. We had a party the other night, we saw each other. It was heavenly. I met his showrunner. They want us together, and Chris and I were talking about it, and it’s time. It’s time now for us. This was a long time not being in each other’s universe. That’s why we did the calls and stuff like that,” she explained, referring to what was shown in the recent season (including SVU‘s finale). “But we’re excited to get back in there, get back in the ring.”
During a panel at ATX Festival in May, Erin Underhill, President of NBCUniversal Television also said (via Parade) that the hope is that they remain part of the Law & Order world. “I think Benson and Stabler in particular is a relationship that people care about,” Underhill said. “We know that when we do something, specifically with [Organized Crime] and SVU, it’s bold. It’s a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of preparation, a lot of money, but it is something that delivers every time. So we do plan to do more of that.”
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