LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME Panel: Live-Blog

NBC will be hosting a panel for its new hit LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME at 11:30 AM PT.

Follow along as star Christopher Meloni, as well as executive producers Dick Wolf and Ilene Chaiken talk about the NBC drama…

11:33 AM: The show is the biggest digital launch in NBC’s history. Nearly 14 million people have watched the episodes so far.

11:34 AM: Meloni says he knew from the start, Elliot was a “guy under pressure.” Wolf, who wrote SVU’s pilot, set the template for how to balance Elliot’s anger. (Meloni was the one to suggest Elliot have four kids vs. three back in 1999.)

11:36 AM: “He’s a guy who has dealt with injustice, one stepped removed…now it’s how do you tend with your own injustice? How do you handle your own grief?” Meloni notes of how the premiere’s big twist impacts Elliot’s mindset. “With your family being literally and figuratively blown up…how do you find better coping methods?”

11:37 AM: They are doing one less episode than the initial plan because of COVID, Wolf says. (Update: A source says the episode order was not altered due to COVID, but rather scheduling. Season 1 will consist of eight episodes.)

“The thing that…this is the first LAW & ORDER with completely different storytelling,” Wolf says.

In a potential season 2, “It’ll be three eight-episode arcs. THE GODFATHER, AMERICAN GANGSTER, and then SCARFACE,” he continues.

“I think it’ll be endlessly interesting…[Elliot] has evolved in subtle ways that are given a lot more than lip service.” Wolf notes he’s really proud of who Elliot is now. He praises Chaiken for taking a very tough character and “making him more sympathetic than he’s ever been.”

11:42 AM: “This is a show that will spend time with Stabler and his family and his life and his emotions,” Chaiken says. The DNA of the franchise is in the show, “but we will probably get to know Stabler in a way we’ve never gotten to know him.”

11:43 AM: Wolf points to the CHICAGO shows as the format for how they’ll cross over OC with SVU. “We’ll do it when it allows both shows to shine.”

“When we tell a story about Stabler in Benson’s world or Benson in Stabler’s world, we don’t just forget about it,” Chaiken notes.

11:46 AM: “It’s one of the most dramatic…it’s probably the most dramatic teaser I can remember of any show,” Wolf says of the death. He says he didn’t see criticism of that storytelling choice.

Chaiken knew that death was in play when she signed on. She says it was good jumping point for her to start with and a good reason to bring this character back.

11:48 AM: Meloni says he’s maybe watched 10 minutes of SVU since he left. But he notes he’s not a big TV person, so it wasn’t personal.

11:50 AM: “This show started off as a story of what we were going to be covering was organized crimes,” Wolf says. Episode 2 takes a time take on hijacking and the COVID vaccine. 

Chaiken says the writers’ room is thinking in the near future, and more often than not, the next day Meloni will send them an article with the same thing they were just discussing.

11:54 AM: They spend a lot of time talking about police behavior, Wolf says. He says they’re “listening very carefully, read virtually everything written by both sides of the spectrum…and the shows will speak for themselves.” He points to CHICAGO P.D.’s consistent handling these tough topics.

Wolf says Meloni instinctively had Elliot roll up his sleeves in SVU’s crossover interrogation scene—that moment wasn’t scripted.

11:59 AM: “My son, Dickie, was the only original original from Day 1 SVU,” Meloni says of his on-screen kids. “Some came on later, and some were brand new. Some were like, ‘Hi, you’re my new daughter, let’s figure out our history.'”

Meloni jokes it made him feel like the OG. He got to welcome a lot of people in. There’s a “lot of ground that’s available to cover.”

Chaiken says we’ll see more of his family life. “A big part of his story is he’s a single father to a 14-year-old kid,” she says. “How he manages to balance that is a big part of his story.”

Off-screen, they got the actors together to suss out their history so they knew where they had been and what their relationships were.

12:02 PM: “Mariska [Hargitay] and I have talked,” Meloni says of connecting with his former co-star post-crossover ratings. “The conversation basically went like this: ‘Wow.’ ‘Wow.’ ‘Congratulations.’ ‘Congratulations to you.'” He says she was a little more prepared for the feedback. He says he feels less pressure this go-round.

And the panel ends with that!

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME, Thursdays, 10/9c, NBC

RELATED:

• LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: ‘Not Your Father’s Organized Crime’ Photos
• LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: Season 1 Cast Photos
• LAW & ORDER: SVU and ORGANIZED CRIME: Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni Break Down Olivia and Elliot’s Messy Reunion
• LAW & ORDER SVU and ORGANIZED CRIME Crossover: Stabler Reunites with Benson, But Suffers a Life-Changing Loss
• LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: What You Need to Know About the Series Premiere
• LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: What Does Fin Know About Elliot’s Return?
• LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME Series Premiere: ‘What Happens in Puglia’ Photos
• NBC Officially Teases LAW & ORDER: SVU and ORGANIZED CRIME Crossover
• Exclusive: LAW & ORDER: SVU Adds a Trio of Stablers for ORGANIZED CRIME Crossover
• Watch Benson and Stabler Reunite in New LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT-ORGANIZED CRIME Crossover Promo
• LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME Adds Five to Season 1 Cast
• LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME Adds DEPUTY’s Danielle Moné Truitt
• NBC Sets Premiere Date for Christopher Meloni-Led LAW & ORDER Spinoff ORGANIZED CRIME
• Christopher Meloni Shares On-Set SVU Reunion Photo with Mariska Hargitay
• LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME Sets Ilene Chaiken as Showrunner
• Christopher Meloni Shares First Photos of Elliot Stabler’s SVU Return
• SVU Boss Shares First Rehearsal Photo From ORGANIZED CRIME Crossover
• LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: 6 Burning Questions about the New SVU Spinoff
• Christopher Meloni Teases LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME and the Benson-Stabler Reunion
• It’s Official: NBC Orders SVU Spinoff Starring Christopher Meloni
• Mariska Hargitay Reacts to Chris Meloni’s New Elliot Stabler Series: ‘Welcome Home’

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.