Law & Order, the longest running crime series and the second longest-running drama series in the history of American broadcast television, started it's 16th season on NBC in the fall of 2005. The brainchild of creator Dick Wolf, Law & Order is the most successful brand in the history of primetime television; the winner of the 1997 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series; ties Cheers and M*A*S*H for the most consecutive best series nominations (eleven) and the longest-running drama series currently on American television. The series has also turned into one of entertainment’s preeminent brands using a distinct ripped from the headlines format, and has spawned the successful spinoffs Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Crime & Punishment and Law & Order: Trial by Jury.

Filmed entirely in and around New York City, this realistic yet fictional drama looks at crime and justice from a dual perspective. In the first half-hour, Detectives Joe Fontana (Dennis Farina) and Edward Green (Jesse L. Martin) investigate crimes and apprehend suspects under the supervision of their precinct lieutenant, Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson). The focus shifts in the second half-hour to the criminal courts as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Assistant District Attorney Borgia (Parisse) work within a complicated justice system to prosecute the accused under the guidance of District Attorney Arthur Branch (Fred Dalton Thompson).

Some cases may be simple, but most are multi-faceted. The investigations are challenging, prosecutions are complicated, and decisions about legal procedures and plea-bargaining are vexing. In the arduous and complex process of determining guilt and innocence, lives often hang in the balance.

Law & Order has been renewed through 2006 and delivers some of the highest ratings on television, ranking fourth for any drama on any network among adults 18-49 for the past four full seasons. Season-to-date, the show remains a top-25 series among adults 18-49, a top-20 series in total viewers and one of the most upscale dramas on television. Law & Order was also television’s #5 drama in overall total viewers for the 2003-04 season with an average of 15.9 million viewers. The acclaimed crime drama has chased away more than 20 competing dramas from the Wednesday (10-11 p.m. ET) hour since moving to that time period in 1992-1993. In 2006, after nearly fourteen years of airing at 10:00 PM, the series was moved to 9:00 PM to make room for the new NBC series Heist. After only two weeks, NBC opted to return the show to it's 10:00 P.M. timeslot after the show fared poorly at 9:00 P.M.