The three shows of NBC’s Law & Order franchise have taken over Thursday nights on the network, and they started the fall season with the very first three-part L&O crossover. The bad news for fans who have been all-in on any or all of the shows this season is that they’re taking a break, with no new episode on Thursday, October 20. The good news is that NBC has already revealed some details of what to expect, and the wait for what comes next isn’t too terribly long.
Law & Order Season 22, Law & Order: SVU Season 24, and Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 are all skipping primetime on October 20, but will be back in their usual time slots on October 27. Plus, based on what has been previewed so far, these may be episodes worth the wait. Let’s start with what to expect from the original series!
Law & Order - “12 Seconds”
Law & Order went through some big changes to start the current Season 22 thanks to the departure of Anthony Anderson as Detective Kevin Bernard. The crossover introduced Mehcad Brooks as Detective Jalen Shaw, and he has settled into his role (and his partnership with Cosgrove, who just learned a valuable lesson) in the episodes since. Shaw and Cosgrove have a new problem on their hands in “12 Seconds,” as does Price. NBC’s episode description teases this:
Cosgrove and Shaw piece together the clues of what happened to a murdered law student, uncovering a web of blackmail and lies. Price fights to have a piece of shocking testimony thrown out.
Not long after Price had to deal with a key piece of evidence against a suspect being thrown out, he’ll have to try and do the same with some testimony. “Blackmail and lies” almost sound par for the course for Law & Order, but the promo suggests that it won’t be easy to narrow down who is guilty for what! “12 Seconds” airs on Thursday, October 27 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - “Breakwater”
As the episodes count down before Kelli Giddish says goodbye to SVU as Amanda Rollins, “Breakwater” will take the team in a different direction than usual. The trailer reveals that a chief lifeguard was hiring unqualified lifeguards in exchange for sex, and people drowned as a result. That’s also not all that’s happening, as the episode description says:
A young man asks the SVU for help when he suspects his boss is preying on his sister. Velasco tries to convince a reluctant witness to testify in court.
Velasco – who has been an asset to newcomer Grace Muncy as she tries to settle into Special Victims – has a tricky task on the way as well, not too long after he decided that he sees his future working under Benson rather than joining the gangs unit. “Breakwater” airs on Thursday, October 27 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
Law & Order: Organized Crime - “Behind Blue Eyes”
Although Organized Crime has moved on to a new target for Season 3, Stabler will revisit his time with the Brotherhood in “Behind Blue Eyes.” The episode will also feature Kelli Giddish as a guest star, with the promo revealing what brings her to the spinoff. A lot seems to be happening over the course of the hour, with the description previewing:
While Stabler is called to testify against the Brotherhood in court, the task force sets their sights on a dangerous criminal gang posing as police. Reyes finds a surprising connection to the suspects they’re after. Bell receives some unwelcome news.
Bell has already received her share of unwelcome news in Season 3 when she found out that her wife is moving forward with the divorce, and it may not bode well that Stabler has to revisit his time with the Brotherhood. SVU fans can enjoy seeing Rollins opposite Stabler, however, and perhaps hope that her appearance means another fun nod toward the iconic Benson/Stabler relationship!
The “Behind Blue Eyes” episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime closes out the night of L&O action on NBC at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 27. It’s not clear if the three shows will go for another multi-part crossover at any point this season, but SVU and OC traditionally share characters on a semi-regular basis. Is Rollins spending some time on the spinoff a sign of more to come, or the last of the fall?
Find out with the Law & Order block of primetime on NBC Thursdays, and revisit past episodes streaming with a Peacock subscription. For some viewing options on other nights of the week, check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
