Dick Wolf on LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT Being on the Cusp of Television History

Producer Dick Wolf is on the cusp of history—again.

In 2010, his series LAW & ORDER was tied with GUNSMOKE as the longest-running primetime drama show; instead of breaking the record with a 21st season, it was canceled. Now, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (a spinoff of L&O) is in its 20th season, tied with LAW & ORDER and GUNSMOKE, once again putting Wolf on the verge of making television history.

“I fully expect it to come back for [season] 21,” Wolf told reporters in the video below. To have the first and second longest-running drama shows would be “pretty cool. I just don’t want to get stopped at the finish line again.”

The odds seem to be in Wolf’s favor. SVU has had remarkable on-screen consistency with Mariska Hargitay (who plays Olivia Benson) leading the series for the show’s entire run. (She recently told THR she was “in it for the long haul.”) Ice-T (who plays Fin Tutuola) has been a part of the show since its second season.

NBC is also leaning heavily on Wolf: his ONE CHICAGO franchise is going strong on Wednesdays; the network also ordered a new chapter in the L&O franchise, LAW & ORDER: HATE CRIMES, which will be incorporated into the upcoming season of SVU.

Check out more from Wolf on being close to breaking a television record…

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Thursdays, 10/9c, NBC

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