Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 continues to progress despite the exit of its most recent showrunner. The Law & Order: SVU spinoff, starring Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler, follows the veteran cop’s return to the NYPD as part of the Organized Crime Task Force. The series is known for its darker, serialized storytelling, distinguishing itself from the broader Law & Order franchise. While the show has undergone several showrunner changes since its 2021 debut, Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 is being developed for Peacock, marking a transition from its previous home on NBC.
According to Deadline, production on Law & Order: Organized Crime‘s fifth season is halfway complete, though the series currently lacks a showrunner. Recent seasons have been led by a string of showrunners such as Barry O’Brien and Sean Jablonski, with David Graziano overseeing various episodes. Most recently, Ozark veteran John Shiban guided the show through its fourth season. However, Shiban has become the fifth showrunner to exit the series, and he does not yet have an official replacement. The original showrunner, Matt Olmstead, has stepped in as an executive producer in the meantime; most scripts have already been written.
What Law & Order: Organized Crime’s Season 5 Update Means
What’s Next For The Beloved Detective?
The production update for Organized Crime season 5 sheds light on the challenges the series continues to face. Unlike its franchise counterparts, Organized Crime employs a serialized approach, focusing on story arcs that span multiple episodes and delve deeply into the personal and professional life of Stabler. While this format has won praise for its deviation from the usual episodes of the Law & Order franchise, it may have also led to creative demands that have resulted in frequent showrunner changes.
Organized Crime has yet to receive a release date, as it did not return in the fall with the other Law & Order shows. From NBC to Peacock, Meloni as Detective Stabler is confirmed to return, with Scarface‘s Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio slated to appear as a character with a connection to his past. While details for the fifth season have remained under wraps, given the previous seasons’ habit to center around a main antagonist, it’ll likely pit Stabler against another powerful criminal adversary.
Our Take On Law & Order: Organized Crime’s Upcoming Season
Frequent Showrunner Exits Can Be An Opportunity For Reinvention
The frequent showrunner changes of Law & Order: Organized Crime have undoubtedly disrupted the creative continuity, but the move to Peacock may offer a chance to reset and refine its narrative direction. The show’s serialized storytelling has been a mixed blessing, setting it apart from the broader Law & Order universe but also creating challenges in maintaining its tone and pacing.
Christopher Meloni’s performance as Detective Stabler remains the heart of the series, and his return has been a highlight. With production already underway, the remaining episodes of season 5 will need strong and committed leadership to ensure that Law & Order: Organized Crime delivers the gripping, character-driven storytelling it promises. Whether this marks a new era for the series or another chapter of behind-the-scenes challenges will depend on how Peacock navigates this hurdle.
Source: Deadline
Law and Order: Organized Crime is a spin-off of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and the seventh series in the Law and Order franchise. Law and Order: Organized Crime premiered on NBC in 2021. It stars Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler, a veteran detective from Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. He returns to the NYPD following the murder of his wife, and joins the Organized Crime Task Force to find her killers. The task force is headed by Sergeant Ayanna Bell, played by Danielle Moné Truitt.
- Cast
- Christopher Meloni
- Release Date
- April 1, 2021
- Writers
- Dick Wolf
- Directors
- Warren Leight
- Showrunner
- Bryan Goluboff