Last Additions to Law & Order: Los Angeles - Wanda de Jesus, Regina Hall

The cast is now complete:

NBC's new series Los & Order: Los Angeles has locked in its cast, with one day to spare. CSI: Miami alumna Wanda De Jesus has landed the last regular role on the crime procedural, which starts production on Monday. She will play Lieutenant Arleen Gonzales, the cool and authoritative captain of the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division. De Jesus, managed by Bob McGowan, joins previously cast Skeet Ulrich, Alfred Molina, Terrence Howard, Corey Stoll and Regina Hall, who was locked in Friday. Hall will play DDA Eva Price, a gorgeous and brainy bombshell with a strong sense of moral rectitude. One of Hall’s first acting gigs was a guest spot on New York Undercover co-created by Dick Wolf. She had a co-starring role on Ally McBeal and went on to work mostly in features (Scary Movie, Death At A Funeral). She is repped by ICM and Principato Young.

Molina and Howard will alternate as Deputy D.A.s, while Ulrich and Stoll play Detective Rex Winters and TJ Jaruszalski, respectively.

Terrence Howard to LOLA

This is great news; Howard is a true star. Unfortunately, that also could be complicated once he runs into Dick Wolf's "my way or the highway" take on running the "L&O"s:

Terrence Howard is boarding NBC's upcoming Law & Order spinoff, Law & Order: Los Angeles, joining Alfred Molina, Skeet Ulrich and Corey Stoll.

Howard will play a new Deputy D.A. who will work alongside Deputy D.A. Morales (Molina). I hear Howard and Molina will be splitting the workload, each appearing roughly in the half of the episodes thus allowing the show to feature big feature names and the actors to stay active in movies.

More here.

Dick Wolf Goes Literary with Law and Order

For those who can't get enough of original recipe "Law & Order," soon Dick Wolf will be providing new stories ... in the form of books:

Law & Order creator/exec producer Dick Wolf has made a deal to write two novels for the Harper Collins imprint William Morrow, in a deal the publisher is announcing today. Though Wolf's latest Law & Order is being transplanted to Los Angeles, he's using his old stomping NYC grounds for the first book. Though as a New Yorker, I'm not thrilled the plot revolves around a terror scare in Gotham. The novel's an untitled suspense thriller about a major terrorist attack planned for New York City during the July 4 weekend. The Joint Terrorism Task Force and an NYPD detective is the only hope to thwart the attack in a thriller in the tradition of The Day of the Jackal and Three Days of the Condor. The deal was made by Morrow exec editor David Highfill, who got the book exclusively from 3 Arts' Richard Abate and UTA, where Peter Benedek has long repped him.

More here.

Hopefully, they'll be better than the terrible 1990s L&O "books" that took place outside the canon and were apparently written by someone who maybe watched two episodes of the show.....

The Living Dead: Will "Law & Order" Rise Again at AMC?

Don't count on it, but who knows?

AMC has already shown its propensity for zombies with its upcoming thriller series The Walking Dead. And now comes word that the network has shown some interest in another stumbling corpse: Law & Order. Sources tell Vulture that the home to groundbreaking hours Mad Men and Breaking Bad has approached NBC Universal about the possibility of producing new episodes of Dick Wolf’s long-running and recently canceled drama. The high price associated with making Wolf's show means that any AMC deal is a long shot, but the fact that conversations have taken place at all is a sign that, even after two decades, the original L&O still might not be ready for burial.

When we last left the saga of L&O in late May, NBC had decided to cancel the so-called mother ship of the franchise, citing low ratings and (relatively) high production costs: According to sources familiar with the matter, the show costs around $3 million an episode. NBC was willing to keep it going, but only if Wolf agreed to reduce his per-episode producer fee from $350,000 per episode to around $150,000 per episode. Wolf, who'd already made other financial concessions to NBC, balked, and L&O was declared over. Refusing to concede defeat, Wolf issued a statement declaring that his show was "in a medically induced coma" and that he was "hoping for a cure." That led to buzz that TNT might step in to save the day, as they have first right of refusal to make new episodes for cable; that talk was quashed when the network issued a statement flatly saying it was "not interested in a Season 21."

(more at link here)

Cusick to SVU, Ulrich to LOLA

Law & Order news! Alas, not the mothership ... but here's a bit of info on "SVU" and "LOLA":

'Law & Order: SVU' is already the most popular and critically acclaimed of the vast NBC 'L&O' empire. Did it really need to add the brilliant Henry Ian Cusick to the cast? Maybe its going for "most beautiful" as well.

The former 'Lost' star has signed for at least two episodes for this fall, according to TV Guide. Executive producer Neal Baer says they were looking for someone who is "a sharp, smart leader and very charismatic." Already a fan of 'Lost,' he thought of Cusick.

(more at the link)


Skeet Ulrich ('Scream') will reportedly star in NBC's upcoming legal spinoff 'Law & Order: Los Angeles.' Ulrich will play Rex Winters in the series, an ex-Marine who gained experience during the Rodney King riots. Five additional roles, including Ulrich's co-lead detective, have yet to be cast. (from here)

Or ... does it?

Maybe the reports of the demise of "Law & Order" were premature; TV Guide is saying this:

The New York Times reports that Law & Order creator Dick Wolf's production company informed select people involved with the series of its demise, including executive producer Fred Berner and former co-executive producer Ed Zuckerman.

However, the Times and Entertainment Weekly both report discussions were continuing late Thursday between Wolf and NBC.

Reps for NBC and for the show declined to comment. NBC is scheduled to officially announce its 2010-2011 schedule on Monday.

It will be a nail biting weekend!

Law & Order Ends

Or so it appears, based on this report from Deadline Hollywood:

EXCLUSIVE: This one is a shocker. Veteran crime drama Law & Order will not get its shot at history after all. I hear that after long deliberations, NBC has decided to cancel the long-running procedural, which will end its run at 20 seasons, tied with Gunsmoke. This is very surprising as NBC brass had indicated lately that they would bring L&O for a record-breaking 21^st season. But with strong development, especially on the drama side, and soft ratings for L&O, NBC apparently opted not to keep the aging series, which spawned several successful spinoffs. The latest, Law & Order: Los Angeles, will launch next season. L&O's renewal by NBC was also contingent on securing a sizable commitment from the series' cable home TNT whose off-network deal for the show was up at the end of this season.

I suppose on the plus side it's Los Angeles' turn now....

Unofficial Companion Media Blitz!

For those who've been wondering, the "Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion" media blitz continues apace. Here, a few links from the recent book party on October 10, and some coverage -- plus thanks to Roger Friedman for highlighting the book on his Showbiz 411 blog!

Loads of great photos here (thanks, Juan Carlos!)

Some nice coverage from John Simon.

The Fabulous Report gets in on the act.

Life magazine!

And Showbiz 411, which also has some interesting insights into the changeups at "Criminal Intent."

And, some nice flowers from "Olivia Benson."

Everybody (except Goldblum) out of the Criminal Intent Water

Big moves going on at Criminal Intent, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" is planning dramatic cast changes for next season, with four regulars, including star Vincent D'Onofrio, departing.

D'Onofrio is expected to exit sometime during the series' upcoming ninth season, handing over his badge to Jeff Goldblum as the top detective on the major case squad.

Kathryn Erbe, who, like D'Onofrio, has been with the show since its beginning and plays his long-suffering partner Alex Eames, also will be phased out, as will Eric Bogosian, who plays the force's captain, Danny Ross.

As previously reported, Julianne Nicholson, who played Goldblum's partner but has just had a baby, her second, also is leaving. She's being replaced by British actress Saffron Burrows.

Details about D'Onofrio, Erbe and Bogosian's exit are still unclear as the actors' deals are being worked out. The network only recently renewed the Wolf Films/Universal Cable Prods. series for a ninth season, slated to premiere in late spring with a two-parter.

Creator and executive producer Dick Wolf has long said that it is the stories, and not the actors, that form the core attraction of his "Law & Order" franchise.

Yet, like Sam Waterston on the original "L&O," D'Onofrio has long been identified with "Criminal Intent" and has helped set its tone as Det. Robert Goren. His trademark gesture, the in-your-face tilt of his head when he interrogates criminals, is a highlight of each episode, as is his encyclopedic knowledge of the arcane that often helps in fingering the suspect.

But, after originating on NBC, "L&O:CI" migrated to sibling USA, which has put together a cluster of dramas that are lighter in tone and subject matter and have more quirkily upbeat characters, as in "Monk," "Psych" and "Burn Notice."

Goldblum, who brings an easy eccentricity to most of his work, is more in the tradition of Tony Shalhoub's "Monk" than D'Onofrio's brooding and tortured Goren.

Additionally, cost savings always factor in production equations these days, with long-standing actors on a show, like D'Onofrio and Erbe, pulling in substantially more than more recent additions.

The sweeping cast changes on "CI" resemble the 2003 shakeup on ABC's "The Practice" when several key actors, including lead Dylan McDermott, Lara Flynn Boyle and Kelli Williams, were let go as a way to slash production costs.

The "CI" changes also represent the biggest shift so far for a show that has seen a number of faces come and go since it began in 2001. For several years, Chris Noth, who played detective Mike Logan, has alternated with D'Onofrio in the top role. He exited the Wolf fold at the end of the 2008 season and is now recurring on the CBS freshman series "The Good Wife."

While D'Onofrio is departing as a regular, it is possible for him to reprise his character in guest stints.