NBC previously packed Thursday nights with procedural action with three solid hours of the Law & Order franchise, but that will change in the fall of the 2024 TV schedule with Law & Order: Organized Crime moving to streaming for Season 5 for Peacock Premium subscribers. The story of New York's Organized Crime Control Bureau will continue with Christopher Meloni in his iconic role as Det. Elliot Stabler; fans just shouldn't expect to see it paired with Law & Order: SVU in primetime again.
Some elements of the show are bound to change with a move from network TV to streaming, while others will remain the same. Let's get into what to expect from the arrival of Law & Order: Organized Crime on Peacock as an original.
What Is Law & Order: Organized Crime's Season 5 Premiere Date?
At the time of writing, no premiere date has been confirmed for Season 5. Of the four seasons of Organized Crime so far, two premiered alongside Law & Order and SVU for 22-episode runs starting in September of that year, but the eight-episode first season premiered in April 2021 and the 13-episode fourth season (affected by the WGA writers strike) premiered in January 2024. According to Deadline, the fifth season is expected to run for ten episodes. Mark-Paul Gosselaar's Found Season 2 will take OC's previous 10 p.m. ET Thursday slot on NBC starting in the fall.
Why Law & Order: Organized Crime Is Moving To Peacock
There was some confusion in the spring when Organized Crime was the only show in NBC's branch of the nine-show Dick Wolf TV universe not to be renewed. After rumors of a move to streaming, the transition was finally confirmed in early May. Later that month, NBCUniversal Entertainment President of Programming Planning Strategy Jeff Bader explained the move to Peacock to TVLine, saying:
Organized Crime is a VERY successful show; this isn’t a show that was on the bubble. It’s a show that works across the board, and it’s very, very strong on streaming. [Moving Season 5 to Peacock] is a win-win for us — 80% of its viewing isn’t in the time period where we schedule it, it’s delayed on Peacock, so it just made sense to move that to free up the time period
According to the NBCUniversal exec, the issue was never a lack of success for the delay in Organized Crime's renewal. It remains to be seen how much of the audience follows Stabler and Co. to Peacock.
What Law & Order: Organized Crime Will Be About
At the time of writing, no details have been confirmed for Organized Crime Season 5's story. That said, the end of Season 4 that brought OC full circle also delivered a cliffhanger with the big bad of the year – arms and drug dealer Julian Emery – escaping the task force with a briefcase of chemical weapons, with Joe Stabler Jr. in tow.
Emery escaped with a not-entirely-willing Joe Jr. on the heels of Stabler's latest dangerous undercover op and the murder of fellow NYPD detective Samir Bashir, who was such a kind family man that fans perhaps should have known he wouldn't survive long in the intensity of Organized Crime.
Assuming the stars align for the cast members whose characters survived the most recent finale, it seems likely that Season 5 will pick up where Season 4 left off, with or without a time jump.
What Stars Are Returning For Season 5?
NBCUniversal's initial announcement of the renewal and move to Peacock only confirmed the return of Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler as well as John Shiban as showrunner, after Danielle Moné Truitt raved about what the Breaking Bad vet brought to Organized Crime. Truitt and Ainsley Seiger are the last remaining series regulars from OC's first season alongside Meloni, and it'd be surprising if they're not back as Sergeant Bell and Jet.
Rick Gonzalez also seems likely to return as Reyes, as well as Dean Norris (Randall), Michael Trotter (Joe Jr), Ellen Burstyn (Bernie), and Nicky Torchia (Eli) as the extended Stabler family, plus Tom Payne (Julian Emery). Speaking with CinemaBlend earlier in 2024, Norris and Trotter expressed hopes that fans were having fun with Season 4. Tate Ellington's return as Vargas seems less certain, although he too expressed gratitude toward fans campaigning for the renewal.
What New Stars Are Joining Season 5?
Peacock has not yet confirmed any new stars who will join Organized Crime for the Season 5 move to Peacock. Unlike the third season, the fourth didn't end with a series regular being killed off, so until we know which cast members are coming back, it's too soon to guess about potential replacements.
Crossover Potential With Law & Order: SVU
After Law & Order: Organized Crime launched back in 2021 as a backdoor pilot of Law & Order: SVU with the very-long awaited reunion between Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), is it any wonder the OC/SVU crossovers were always highly anticipated? OC Season 4 and SVU Season 25 didn't deliver any two-parters or on-screen reunions despite the previous season finales ending on a hopeful note for them; is there still hope now that the shows won't air on the same platform? Hargitay told Variety this following OC's renewal in May:
I’m actually planning on it. I just told him the other day. We had a party the other night, we saw each other. It was heavenly. I met his showrunner. They want us together, and Chris and I were talking about it, and it’s time. It’s time now for us. This was a long time not being in each other’s universe. That’s why we did the calls and stuff like that. But we’re excited to get back in there, get back in the ring.
As Hargitay alluded, the closest that OC and SVU delivered to a Stabler/Benson reunion in the 2023-2024 TV season was Stabler leaving his former partner a voicemail and Benson calling Stabler – with a voice cameo from Meloni – following the stressful Season 25 finale standoff. In her interview, she sounded optimistic about an NBC/Peacock crossover for the two characters, so there's certainly still hope.
Where To Watch Seasons 1-4
For all the unanswered questions and as the wait continues for the return of Law & Order: Organized Crime, there is good news for fans. Despite not being available streaming for some time, all four seasons of OC so far are currently streaming on Peacock. Every season of SVU is available on the NBCUniversal streamer as well, so OC fans have the option of revisiting every crossover with Benson and Stabler.
More news should continue to release about Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5's move to Peacock in the coming months, although details may be few and far between since a fall premiere isn't guaranteed. Stay tuned!
