‘Law & Order: Hate Crimes Unit’ Is Coming to NBC
Another Law & Order series is on the way. NBC announced Tuesday, September 4, that Law & Order creator Dick Wolf and former Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Criminal Intent executive producer Warren Leight have teamed up to bring viewers Law & Order: Hate Crimes Unit.
“As with all of my crime shows, I want to depict what’s really going on in our cities and shine a light on the wide-ranging victims and show that justice can prevail,” Wolf said in a press release.
“Twenty years ago when SVU began, very few people felt comfortable coming forward and reporting these crimes, but when you bring the stories into people’s living rooms — with characters as empathetic as Olivia Benson — a real dialogue can begin,” Wolf continued. “That’s what I hope we can do with this new show in a world where hate crimes have reached an egregious level.”
NBC has ordered 13 episodes of the new show, which, like the network’s other Law & Order series, will take a ripped-from-the-headlines approach. The show will be set in New York City and focus on the Hate Crimes Task Force, the second oldest bias-based task force in the country.
The unit, “which pledges to uphold a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination of any kind, works under the NYPD’s real Special Victims Unit and often borrows SVU’s detectives to assist in their investigations,” according to NBC.
“I’m extremely impressed by the actual men and women investigating these cases in a city as complicated and diverse as New York,” Leight said in a statement. “The work they are doing puts them on the front lines in a battle for the soul of our city and nation. I’m thrilled about the chance to reunite with Dick and NBC to portray the reality of this crisis.”
Lisa Katz, co-president of scripted programming at NBC Entertainment, added, “As Law & Order: SVU enters its remarkable 20th season, it is exciting to get back into business with Dick Wolf on a new Law & Order incarnation that feels extremely timely. Considering that last year there was a double-digit rise in hate crimes in our 10 largest cities — the highest total in over a decade — it seemed like this topic is begging to be explored.”
NBC has not yet announced a premiere date for Law & Order: Hate Crimes Unit. The 20th season of Law & Order: SVU, starring Mariska Hargitay, Kelli Giddish, Ice-T, Peter Scanavino, and Philip Winchester, is set to premiere on September 27 at 9pm on NBC.
Are you excited to watch Law & Order: Hate Crimes Unit? Let us know @BritandCo!
(photo via Pascal Le Segretain/Getty)
