‘Law & Order’ Returns, With New Energy and a Considered Approach: TV Review
variety.comDaniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticThere is surely enough “Law & Order” content in existence to program an entire network, seven nights a week, with reruns.
Spinoff “Special Victims Unit” has run continuously since 1999; the flagship series aired from 1990 to 2010. There are obvious market reasons to bring back the original — the perceived likelihood of a known quantity outperforming a replacement-level new series, the decades’ worth of audience familiarity with the format.
But artistically, the only justification for reviving “Law & Order” is finding within it something to say about a world that’s come a long way since Sam Waterston’s Jack McCoy was last onscreen.In its first episode, “Law & Order” 2.0 manages that.
The show is the show is the show — fans will be soothed by its dogged commitment to its structure, while detractors will once again note, for instance, the fairly ludicrous departure from real-life courtroom protocol.
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