Law & Order comes to ITV

The Law & Order brand is expanding globally, as ITV today announced an exciting new 13-part drama series for ITV1 based on the enormously successful U.S. format.

The Emmy-Award winning Law & Order is the longest-running crime series and the second-longest-running drama series in the history of television, which has just begun its 18th season on NBC.

ITV has commissioned 13 one-hour episodes of Law & Order: London (working title) as a Kudos, Wolf Films and NBC Universal production for ITV1.

Kudos Film and TV Ltd., the independent production company behind Moving Wallpaper/Echo Beach, Spooks, Hustle and Life on Mars, have teamed up with original series creator Dick Wolf to develop the Emmy award-winning drama for the UK.

The drama is planned to begin production in April 2008 and is yet to be cast. The show runnner will be Chris Chibnall who counts highly successful series such as Life On Mars and Torchwood amongst his prestigious credits. The series is to be one of the highlights in ITV’s programme line-up for 2009.

Laura Mackie Director of Drama, ITV, commented, “This is an exciting and proven U.S. format that demonstrates ITV’s commitment to developing and commissioning long-running series with ideas, concepts and storylines that genuinely stretch beyond 10 or 12 episodes. Although based on the U.S. series, Law & Order: London will absolutely look and feel very British, glossy, dynamic and with the style and energy Kudos bring to all of their drama.”

Kudos’ Managing Director, Stephen Garrett, added, “This is a thrilling opportunity for us to learn first-hand from Dick Wolf, one of the all-time masters of television drama. Together with Dick and NBC Universal, we look forward to creating for ITV that rarest of creatures in the UK TV firmament - a new drama commissioned in substantial enough numbers to embed itself in the hearts and minds of the audience, just as it has done in the US.”

And Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of Law And Order, said: “As the brand continues to expand around the world, we could not ask for a better team than ITV and Kudos to help us bring a home grown “Law & Order” to the UK.”

The brainchild of creator Dick Wolf, Law & Order is the most successful brand in primetime U.S. television. It is the 1997 Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Drama Series and the record holder for the most consecutive (11) nominations for a drama series. It has also turned into one of TV entertainment’s most pre-eminent brands, with its successful spinoffs Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Filmed entirely on location in New York, the U.S. drama looks at crime and justice from a dual perspective and stars Jeremy Sisto, Jesse L. Martin, Linus Roache, Sam Waterston, Alana De La Garza and S. Epatha Merkerson.