There's Big Reason Christopher Meloni's Law And Order Spinoff Hasn't Been Renewed, And It May Mean Big Changes For Organized Crime

There are already plenty of shows that were canceled or are ending in 2024, but presumably nobody involved with Law & Order: Organized Crime wants to be part of that particular group, least of all star and executive producer Christopher Meloni. The crime-drama spinoff wasn’t part of NBC’s batch of L&O and One Chicago renewals that were announced in early March, leading many fans to worry about Elliot Stabler’s return being cut short. But it turns out there are some potentially big reasons why we haven’t heard anything fully official about Season 5 before now.

As it turns out, prior rumors about Law & Order: Organized Crime’s possible move to Peacock were seemingly legit, and it looks like Meloni & Co. will indeed make the jump to streaming for the fifth season. So that’s the biggest reason why NBC itself hasn’t volunteered any updates about the on-the-bubble series’ fate.

A secondary reason for the network’s hesitance to move forward with new episodes is that its upcoming primetime schedule is already pretty booked. On top of all the series whose renewals have been confirmed — both Law & Order and SVU, the three Chicago dramas, and freshman series Found and The Irrational — NBC is also fully in on the new Zachary Quinto drama Dr. Wolf and the high-concept crime procedural The Hunting Party. Add on the pilots that are being developed, and there just aren’t enough time slots for everything to fit. And for one reason or another, NBC appears okay to replace Organized Crime.

Dean Norris Explains The Breaking Bad Reunion That Convinced Him To Join Law And Order: Organized Crime: 'I Could Trust What Was Gonna Happen'

So why hasn’t Peacock already come forward with a big announcement yet? According to THR, the company’s bosses are still in the process of nailing down all the details before going forward with the news. It sounds like the goal is for L&O: Organized Crime to get a ten-episode Season 5, which would be its second shortest outing to date, coming in three eps under the strike-delayed fourth season’s 13 installments, and two over the debut season’s eight-episode run.

The series has reportedly been a dependable winner for Peacock even amidst other Dick Wolf dramas, so it will be interesting to see if the delayed-viewing audiences make the transition to watching the eps as they debut on the streaming service. As well, whether this will be the move that gets on-the-fence fans to sign up for a Peacock subscription.

Will Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 be part of the 2024 TV schedule? We can only hope so, though it’s possible that production for the ten episodes will be expanded, pushing the new season back to a midseason debut. Not that all broadcast shows that make the jump to streaming suddenly double their budgets or anything.

Until we know more, new O.C. episodes will continue airing on NBC on Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. ET, and streaming the next day on Peacock.