ITV orders more Law & Order UK
ITV has ordered 13 episodes more of its critically acclaimed crime/legal series Law & Order UK. Updated: Includes ITV Press Release with details of new cast members.
ITV has ordered 13 episodes more of its critically acclaimed crime/legal series Law & Order UK. The series is a remake of the American drama of the same name created by Dick Wolf which has spawned spin-offs Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and more recently Law & Order: Los Angeles. It has also spawned additional remakes such as in France.
Law & Order UK recently ended its third season on ITV1 where it aired in a Thursday evening slot. ITV has now ordered an additional 13 episodes of the crime/legal series which stars Jamie Bamber, Ben Daniels, Bill Paterson, Freema Agyeman and Bradley Walsh. ITV has so far spilt the 13 episode seasons it previously ordered into two blocks when airing them. ITV therefore has an additional six episodes of Law & Order which it will broadcast as its “fourth season”.
The 13 newly ordered episodes will likely make up “season five” and “season six” of Law & Order UK. Below is the ITV Press Release with details on new cast members joining Law and Order UK.
ITV has commissioned Kudos Film and Television to produce another 13 episodes of its successful drama Law & Order: UK. Law & Order: UK is based on Dick Wolf’s groundbreaking US format which remains the most successful brand on primetime U.S. television. Commissioned for the UK by Peter Fincham, ITV’s Director of Television, Channels and Online and Laura Mackie, ITV’s Director of Drama, the third series of Law & Order: UK launched last month with more than 5 million viewers and with series four to air in the new year the drama has established itself as one of ITV’s most popular.
The critically acclaimed cast, including Bradley Walsh, Jamie Bamber, Harriet Walter and Freema Agyeman are joined each week by a host of guest stars. Series three attracted a fantastic line up including Rupert Graves, Deborah Findlay, Kevin Doyle, Rocky Marshall, Patrick Malahide, Ruth Gemmell, Matthew Marsh, Celyn Jones, Wunmi Mosaku, and Robbie Gee. Stars including Juliet Stevenson, Tobias Menzies and Nicola Walker will join the cast for series four.
Law & Order: UK is continuing to deliver audiences with its top flight acting and ‘ripped from the headlines’ storylines that captivate and entertain. With the commissioning of 13 new episodes we are proving ITV’s commitment to a series which has the potential to run and run much like its US counterpart.” Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of Law & Order, says: “I am absolutely thrilled that ITV has ordered another year of Law & Order: UK. Stephen Garrett and the entire Kudos team have done a fabulous job of creative stewardship.” – Laura Mackie (Director of Drama, ITV)
The new series will also be co-produced by Kudos Films and Television, Wolf Films and NBC Universal. The executive producers are Jane Featherstone (Spooks, Ashes to Ashes), Andrew Woodhead (The Fixer, Spooks) and Stephen Garrett (Burn Up) for Kudos and Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of Law & Order for Wolf Films. The producer will be Richard Stokes who also produced series one to four of Law & Order: UK. Emilia di Girolamo is co-producer and lead writer and other members of the writing team include Debbie O’Malley, Nick Hicks-Beach, Roy Williams and Richard Stokes.
The brainchild of creator Dick Wolf, Law & Order remains the longest running crime series in the history of U.S. television although earlier this year closed its New York casebook after 20 seasons. However successful spin-offs including the new Law & Order: LA, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent mean Law & Order is still one of television entertainment’s most pre-eminent brands. Law & Order: UK is currently being shown on BBC America in the US to hugely positive critical response.