A new Law & Order spinoff, centered around criminal defense lawyers, is coming to NBC. Since its debut in 1990 with the original Law & Order series, the shows have typically followed a case-of-the-week structure and maintained a generally episodic approach to its storytelling.
There have been notable attempts to tinker with the formula, however. Back in 2016, Law & Order: True Crime attempted to cash in on the true-crime craze with an anthology format. More notably, the relationship between Law & Order: SVU leads Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler has shown that fans are deeply invested in the emotional lives of certain characters. Stabler recently returned to Law & Order for his spinoff, titled Organized Crime, which takes a more serialized structure and examines the character’s bond with Benson more deeply. Still, despite these deviations from its established formula, the latest Law & Order spinoff arguably makes the biggest change yet.
Variety reports that Law & Order: For the Defense has skipped the pilot stage to be given a straight-to-series order at NBC. The spinoff will put lawyers under the microscope, along with the criminal justice system, to deliver contemporary morality tales each week. Carol Mendelsohn, known for her work in the CSI franchise, will serve as showrunner. She’ll also executive produce, alongside Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, Arthur Forney, Julie Weitz, and Peter Jankowski. In statements, both Mendelsohn and Wolf expressed excitement at the opportunity to explore the universe of Law & Order from a different angle.
Although it has tinkered with its style in the past, via true crime anthologies and more personal stories, it’s worth noting that the spinoff comes at a time when law enforcement procedurals have been called out in the wake of the most recent Black Lives Matter protests for providing an unbalanced view of cops and the criminal justice system more broadly. Law & Order, along with other series like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, have garnered criticism for depicting police officers and district attorneys in an exceedingly positive light by prioritizing their perspectives. By shifting the lens to the other side of the ledger, as Mendelsohn and Wolf indicate in their statements, perhaps For the Defense will be able to shed light on the many defendants that are often at the mercy of district attorneys and police officers that possess tremendous power.
Law & Order, through its many spinoffs, has of course addressed the flaws of policing and the justice system over its many episodes. But too often, the shows present an idealistic view of well-intentioned characters just trying to do their best. While that may be true on an individual level, it nonetheless popularizes a positive worldview that doesn’t match up to the reality of the injustices experienced by many. If handled well, Law & Order: For the Defense could provide a bit of a counterbalance. In any case, it will be an interesting adjustment for the long-running franchise.
Source: Variety