Why This 1 Law & Order Spinoff Should Be On Streaming (Not On TV)

The Law & Order franchise currently airs three series back-to-back on Thursday nights, but there’s an argument to be made that Law & Order: Organized Crime should be moved exclusively to Peacock or another streaming service. The Christopher Meloni-led series is a spinoff of Law & Order: SVU in which Elliot Stabler works with a special task force focused on taking down mob bosses, gang leaders, and other criminal organizations. The series is excellent, but has been in trouble almost since it began.

Unfortunately, Law & Order; Organized Crime’s future is in doubt. NBC renewed the other Law & Order series without making a decision about Organized Crime. This is the second time the series has been on the bubble. In 2023, Law & Order: Organized Crime was only given a half-order for season 4 and would have been a mid-season replacement if the writers’ and actors’ strikes hadn’t delayed the start of most scripted TV series. Law & Order: Organized Crime casting Dean Norris as Stabler’s brother was likely an attempt to raise ratings. Still, moving the series to streaming only is a better solution.

Law & Order: Organized Crime’s Long Stories Would Work Better on Peacock

Being Able to Watch An Entire Season At Once Would Reduce Frustration

Unlike the other two series in the Law & Order franchise, Law & Order: Organized Crime’s stories rarely wrap up in one or two episodes, and some arcs have taken as many as eight episodes to resolve. This is realistic given the nature of the crimes in the series but can be frustrating for audiences used to moving quickly on to the next case. Stories that last a month or more can feel like they are dragging on, causing viewers to give up on them. These cases also often involve a large number of characters, which can be confusing.

Moving Law & Order: Organized Crime to Peacock would solve these problems. If the series were converted to streaming-only, NBC could offer an entire season’s worth of episodes at once. This would allow viewers who dislike the slow pace of the stories to binge-watch an entire arc at once, reducing their frustration. For binge-watchers, stories and characters would remain fresh in their minds, making Law & Order: Organized Crime easier to follow. Those who prefer the slow burn could choose to watch at a slower pace, making both segments of the audience happy.

Law & Order: Organized Crime’s Stories Take Multiple Episodes To Resolve

Moving to Streaming Preserves This Storytelling Approach Rather Than Changing The Series’ Focus

Law & Order: Organized Crime experimented with shorter stories during seasons 2 and 3, but it was difficult to preserve the series’ realism while offering self-contained stories. To do it effectively, the writers had to give Stabler and Bell mini-quests to solve while still having an overarching storyline involving the big fish they were hoping to catch. This compromise didn’t solve the problem of retaining audience attention because the big story still took forever to resolve.

Law & Order: Organized Crime season 4 returned to the longer-form storytelling the series is known for. The four-episode Clay Bonner arc was shorter than most such stories but still took a month to resolve. This story included throwbacks to the past, as Bonner killed a woman Stabler had previously rescued. The month-long execution made it feel more like a miniseries than episodes of a broadcast television show, but the storytelling was phenomenal and it would be a shame not to be able to tell stories like this in the future.

Moving Law & Order: Organized Crime To Streaming Would Attract The Right Audience

Fewer Restrictions Would Allow For More Grittiness That Would Appeal to Fans of Mobster Stories

Although Law & Order: Organized Crime is more violent than the other shows in the franchise, it still has to abide by broadcast television restrictions. This would be far less of a problem on Peacock, where racier, more graphic stories and language are acceptable. A series about catching mob bosses and other big-time organized criminals would appeal to people who enjoy movies like Goodfellas or series like The Sopranos, but attracting this audience requires complete immersion into the underworld. This is not possible on broadcast TV because of content restrictions.

Law & Order: Organized Crime seasons 1 and 2 contained shocking levels of violence for broadcast TV that might have turned off a segment of the audience. However, there is an audience that wants that type of content, and that audience is more likely to be found on streaming because shows can push the envelope further there. For example, when Law & Order: Organized Crime cast Stabler’s younger brother in preparation for a story about that brother being involved in drug trafficking, the story could go further on streaming, making for a more riveting and realistic plot.

Law & Order: Organized Crime’s Future On NBC Is Uncertain

Lower Ratings Have Left The Series on The Bubble Again

Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 updates aren’t promising. The series has struggled to gain viewers, averaging a lower ratings share in the key 18-49 demographic than its sister shows. This has been a perpetual problem that has not been helped by the number of times the series changed showrunners, each of whom experimented with different formats to try to attract the audiences that tune in to the other two series. Law & Order: Organized Crime‘s failure to attract that audience could lead to its demise, although NBC has not made a final decision yet.

If NBC decides to renew Law & Order: Organized Crime, it might experiment with changing the time slot. The series currently airs at 10 PM EST, which may be too late for some viewers to watch live. Switching the time slot with one of the other series in the franchise might be seen as a last-ditch effort to get viewers. If that doesn’t work, NBC may conclude that it is out of options as casting big-name guest stars and changing showrunners has not resolved the problem.

Trying solutions such as changing the time slot or hiring new writers attempt to fit Law & Order: Organized Crime into typical broadcast programming, which makes them less likely to succeed. Converting the series to a Peacock exclusive would allow it to preserve the long-form storytelling that works best without losing impatient audiences. Looser restrictions on streamed content would also allow it to gain a new, devoted audience. Rather than trying to fit this square-peg series into the round hole of broadcast television, NBC should change it into a streaming-only series so it can reach its potential.