Law & Disorder

Law & Disorder
Genre	Situation Comedy
Created by	Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Michael Schur
Starring	Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Corbin Bleu, Rachel Dratch, Billy Eichner with Ricky Gervais and Maya Rudolph
Opening Theme	Band on the Run by Paul McCartney & The Wings
Location	Boston
Country Of Origin	United States
Number Of Episodes	116
Running Time	23 minutes (regular) 60 minutes (Specials)
Original Channel:	NBC
Original Air Date	September 22nd 2016 - Present
Produced by	Lorne Michaels
Directed by	Beth McCarthy-Miller

Law & Disorder was a situation comedy that airedThursdays at 7/8c on NBC. Created by Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Michael Schur, the show revolved around two failing female lawyers (Fey and Poehler) and their team as they tried to get back at the top of their game. The show's name was a reference to CBS legal drama, Law & Order.

The show came to an end after it's eighth season in 2023 by a mutual decision between Schur, Fey and Poehler and the executives at NBC.

Background

In December 2015, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler starred in Paula Pell-written comedy 'Sisters', to critical and commercial success. While on a press tour for the film, the duo hosted the show that made them famous, Saturday Night Live. Lorne Michaels, SNL's producer and creator, witnessed the surge in ratings and praise for the show when the pair hosted that he suggested they create a show together.

Amy met with her close friend and Parks and Recreation co-creator Michael Schur to discuss ideas and later also brought in Tina. They eventually agreed on a pitch about two college friends who run a struggling lawyer's office in Boston. They initially pitched it to Lorne Michaels in March 2016 and Lorne recommended the series to NBC executives, who then ordered a 13-episode initial run that was upped to 24 half hour episodes in July.

The writing staff were hired in mid-June and consists of Amy Poehler, Michael Schur, Paula Pell, Tina Fey and Kay Cannon. Greg Daniels came on board as creative consultant soon after.

Casting began in July and a set of 5 regulars were produced with specific actors in mind. Characters were specifically written for Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Rachel Dratch and Billy Eichner - all of whom came on board the project immediately. The writers felt additional female characters were required. Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph soon joined the cast, with Wiig in a regular role and Rudolph acting as a recurring character. A role for an intern was written with the intention of casting a female, but the role was rewritten and given to actor Corbin Bleu. The last person to be cast was Ricky Gervais, who will appear occasionally as Fey and Poehler's rival in law.

Cast

Starring

Tina Fey as Wanda Wallace (Season 1 - 8)

Amy Poehler as Katie French (Season 1 - 8)

Kristen Wiig as Carly French (Season 1 - 8)

Bill Hader as Ricky Lake (Season 1 - 8)

Corbin Bleu as Tony Connors (Season 1 - 3)

Rachel Dratch as Kimberley Knarkles (Season 1 - 8)

Billy Eichner as Billy 'Nut' Thompson (Season 1 - 3, 5 - 8)

Maya Rudolph as Tonya Lake (Season 2 - 8)

Paula Pell as Laura Michaels (Season 3 - 8)

Nick Offerman as Judge Norris (Season 3 - 8)

Jack Whitehall as Thomas Pinkman (Season 5 - 6)

Recurring

Ricky Gervais as Gary Garison (Season 1 - 5)

Maya Rudolph as Tonya Lake (Season 1)

Paula Pell as Laura Michaels (Season 1 - 2)

Cloris Leachman as Grandma French (Season 2 - 8)

Jack Whitehall as Thomas Pinkman (Season 3 - 4)

Steve Carrell as Martin Wilson (Season 4)

Kate McKinnon as Marsha Wilson (Season 4 - 8)

Guest Starring

Betty White as Grandma Wallace (Season 1, 4)

Judah Friedlander as Howey Wallace (Season 1 - 3)

Cloris Leachman as Grandma French (Season 1)

Chris Pratt as Courtney French (Season 1 - 3, 5)

Steve Carrell as Martin Wilson (Season 5 - 8)

Special Guest Stars

Tracy Morgan as himself (Season 1, 3, 5)

Nick Offerman as Judge Norris (Season 1)

Megan Mulaley as Mayor Judy Johnson (Season 1 - 8)

Season 1

Season 1 began on September 22nd 2016 on NBC and aired 24 episodes, with the finale airing on May 11th 2017.

S01E01 - Pilot

Written by Amy Poehler, Tina Fey & Michael Schur

After losing another case in court and therefore another client, friends of 20 years Wanda Wallace and Kate French decide to shut down the law office they established together, that's until Kate's high school boyfriend and D.C. lawyer Ricky Lake (not the TV show host) offers to step in a revamp the business. The pair fire their current staff and welcome Ricky's staff from D.C., Kim and Billy. They also offer a local college student an internship, everything's looking up for the girls - until ruthless British lawyer Gary Garison steps in and begins poaching their remaining clients. Can the girls save their business before it's torn apart?

S01E02 - Ill Timings

Written by Paula Pell

Wanda and Kate have fallen ill with the flu so Ricky is insistent that Kim and intern Tony take their place in court. The pair have all their faith in them until they find out who the prosecution is - Gary.

S01E03 - New York City

Written by Kay Cannon & Tina Fey

Kate is asked to take a case in NYC with Ricky, leaving Wanda to hold the fort alone with Billy and Kim. When desperate times calls for desperate messures and Wanda calls in Kate's obnoxious younger sister, Carly.

S01E04 - Sibling Rivalry

Written by Kay Cannon

Kate is less than impressed when she returns from NYC to see Carly sat at her desk, still holding a grudge from 15 years ago, Kate refuses to come back to the office until Carly is gone. But since Wanda gave Carly a job, she tries to get Ricky and Tony to reconcile the sisters.

Season 2

Law & Disorder was renewed for a second season in June 2017. It began airing on September 21st 2016 on NBC and aired 22 episodes, with the finale airing on May 10th 2018. Maya Rudolph was promoted to a season regular and Cloris Leachman's Grandma French became a recurring character.

Season 3

Law & Disorder was renewed for a third and fourth season in May 2018. It began airing on September 28th 2018 on NBC and aired 22 episodes, with the finale airing on May 16th 2019. Corbin Bleu left the cast in episode 10, Nick Offerman and Paula Pell became regular cast members from episode 12 onwards. British actor and comedian Jack Whitehall joined the cast in a recurring capacity from episode 11 onwards.

Season 4

Law & Disorder was renewed for a third and fourth season in May 2018. Season four began airing on September 27th 2019 on NBC and aired 24 episodes, with the finale airing on May 22nd 2020. Billy Eichner was demoted to recurring for this season, Steve Carrell and Kate McKinnon joined the recurring cast from episode 12 onwards. Betty White returned as a special guest star this season.

Rumours of Cancellation

Despite the series being upped to 24 episodes this season, The Hollywood Reporter suggested in January 2020 that NBC were unhappy with Law & Disorder's performance and planned to scrap the series at the end of the season. These rumours were quashed by producer Lorne Michaels in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, where he confirmed it would return for a full fifth season in September 2020.

Season 5

Law & Disorder was renewed for a fifth season in February 2020. It began airing on September 26th 2020 on NBC and aired 24 episodes, with the finale airing on May 21st 2021. Billy Eichner returned to the regular cast, Jack Whitehall was also promoted, Steve Carrell appeared as a guest star and Ricky Gervais appeared in only 3 episodes.

Season 6

Law & Disorder was renewed for a sixth season in May 2021. It began airing on September 25th 2020 on NBC and aired 24 episodes, with the finale airing on May 21st 2022. Jack Whitehall was fired from the show halfway through the season after controversial comments made on The Tonight Show with Seth Meyers. Maya Rudolph was absent for 6 episodes due to commitments to her NBC variety show.

Season 7

Due to the dramatic rise in ratings for season 6, Law & Disorder was given an early renewal for a seventh season in November 2021. It began airing earlier than usual, starting on September 3rd 2022, it completed it's 25 episode run on May 13th 2023. There were several celebrity cameos throughout the season, notably President Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea. The show was particularly praised this season for addressing serious issues, such as Grandma French's (Cloris Leachman) cancer battle and Nut Thompson's (Billy Eichner) gay wedding.

Season 8

In May 2023, just after Season 7 had completed broadcasting, NBC announced that Law & Disorder would return for Season 8, which had been extended to a lengthy 30 episodes. Six weeks later in July, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler confirmed that season 8 would be the last season of Law & Disorder on NBC. The farewell season began airing on NBC on September 8th 2023 and the final 5 episodes aired over the course of one week, concluding on May 12th 2024.

Movie Sequel

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey announced after the cliffhanger ending of Season 8 that a movie was officially entering production in July 2024, set to be released the following summer. The Movie was officially titled "Law & Disorder: The Big Case" and would feature both current and former cast members of the show. 101-year-old actress and former recurring cast member Betty White was the first cast member to confirm her involvement alongside Poehler and Fey.

See more: Law & Disorder: The Big Case

International Broadcast, Distribution and Adaptations

Law & Disorder began airing in the UK and Ireland in January 2017 on Sky Atlantic. A British adaptation was produced in Autumn 2017 entitled 'No Soliciting Please' and aired on BBC Two for three 10 episode series before moving to BBC One for a final 3-part series.

Law & Disorder also airs on all NBCUniversal affiliate networks in continental Europe and Asia. ABC airs the series in Australia and Showtime NZ broadcasts the show in New Zealand.

A French remake was confirmed to air in 2019, casting and airdates have yet to be set.

Every season of Law & Disorder has been released on DVD, Blu Ray and digital download via iTunes:

Season	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
1	June 4th 2017	June 3rd 2017	October 9th 2019
2	June 3rd 2018	June 3rd 2018	October 9th 2019
3	June 2nd 2019	June 10th 2019	October 9th 2019
4	June 5th 2020	June 9th 2020	June 11th 2020
5	May 29th 2021	June 8th 2021	September 12th 2021
6	June 6th 2022	June 14th 2022	September 10th 2022
7	June 5th 2023	June 6th 2023	December 11th 2023
8	June 4th 2024	June 12th 2024	August 8th 2024
Complete Collection	June 4th 2024	July 21st 2024	Unavailable

The series is also available on Netflix in the US, Canada and Europe.