Out of legendary producer Dick Wolf’s great television franchises of the 1990s and the 2000s, only one, Law and Order: SVU, is still airing on NBC and it still stars Mariska Hargitay. Wolf has since moved his action to Chicago, with Chicago Fire, which went on the air in 2012, and Chicago PD in 2014.
Wolf spoke to the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena on Friday about his current projects.
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“Chicago Fire” killed off a popular character called Leslie Shay in October. On that decision Wolf said, “Obviously the character’s leaving, you want to maximize the effect, and it’s a very dangerous business; that’s why that methodology was chosen. [Its] always bittersweet, but you’re always looking for ways to do them that are unexpected, or in this case was a major cliffhanger.”
NBC held a crossover “event” with its two Chicago shows and “Law and Order: SVU” last November. Wolf had a number of crossovers between his law and Order shows over the years and twice during the 90s he famously had a Law and Order/Homicide Life on the Street Crossover. Both shows were on NBC.
On crossover episodes Wolf said, “It’s always been in the back in my mind that whenever you can do those on a rational basis, it’s synergistic. You can’t do it too often, but two, three times a season is catnip.”
