Unlike Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU with their returns to NBC before the end of the 2024 TV schedule, the wait for Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 to premiere for fans with a Peacock subscription is still on. Production began back in August, but a major change behind the scenes has paused production, and it's a reveal that longtime OC fans should be used to by now. John Shiban has departed the NBC-turned-Peacock drama as the seventh showrunner to exit. It's game-changing news, as well as a reminder of what certain cast members previously told us about working with him during Season 4.
John Shiban reportedly exited Law & Order: Organized Crime earlier in November and production paused as a result, according to Deadline. No new showrunner has been announced at the time of writing, but a familiar name from the nine-show Dick Wolf TV universe returning to his old stomping grounds. Matt Olmstead, the first showrunner of OC, is returning as an executive producer to help with the remaining scripts of Season 5. It's worth noting that he originally left OC very early on. Olmstead returned to the Wolf Entertainment world when he joined FBI: International as new EP/showrunner.
At the time of writing, no explanation has been given for why Breaking Bad vet Shiban is stepping away from the series with production said to be around halfway done, which is particularly interesting since he and Christopher Meloni were the only two to have their involvement confirmed when the move from NBC to Peacock was first announced. This move makes him the seventh showrunner to depart, with the revolving door of bosses starting with (technically) Matt Olmstead, then Ilene Chaiken, Barry O'Brien, Bryan Goluboff, Sean Jablonski, and David Graziano. Season 5 would have been Shiban's second full season.
And the departure of Shiban ahead of Organized Crime's presumed return in the 2025 TV schedule reminded me of when I was fortunate enough to speak with cast members of Season 4 about what he brought to the hit crime drama. Danielle Moné Truitt, who plays Sgt. Ayanna Bell, said this about Shiban as the new boss ahead of the fourth season premiere:
I feel like our scripts are very grounded this season. I think because of those other shows he was on, I think he brings a bit of that vibe to our show as well. It's network television, so it's going to be what it is, but I do think he brings just a little more gravitas to the world that we're in. And so I'm appreciating that. I've only read three of his scripts so far, because we're about to start Episode 4 soon
Not only is John Shiban an alum of Breaking Bad, but the Emmy-nominated writer has been a producer on Ozark, Hell on Wheels, Supernatural, The X-Files, and more. More recently, he added Dune: Prophecy to his list of EP credits. Ahead of OC Season 4, Truitt appreciated his "grounded" approach to the Law & Order: SVU spinoff, and that's not all. She went on:
I've read three of his scripts, I've liked the scripts. I've liked that he hasn't tried to change the characters or throw in stuff that's like, 'What? What is happening?' [laughs] It seems like he's watched the previous seasons. He's kind of in tune with who these characters are, and he's writing based on that. So I appreciate that.
Season 4 was one of my personal favorite runs of Organized Crime to date, largely because of what Truitt said about what he brought to the show early on. Of course, I also have been a fan of his earlier projects – particularly The X-Files from a young age – so perhaps I'm biased!
Dean Norris, who starred on Breaking Bad alongside Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul for five seasons, joined Organized Crime in Season 4 as a guest star and was promoted to series regular status for Season 5. Back in April, toward the end of the fourth season, Norris shared that working with Shiban again was what hooked him into joining. He said:
It was fantastic. I mean, other than Chris Meloni, that's the reason for doing the show. John called and he said that we were going to be exploring the family relationships and stuff like that, and he certainly has come through with some great writing in that regard. And he proved his word to be true, and [there] continues to be great stuff, by the way.
When I spoke with Norris, there were still several episodes left of Season 4 to air, although the action was certainly approaching its climax and cliffhanger that left me wondering if Season 5 would go full Breaking Bad. The actor continued:
I've already seen almost to the end. I've only got one more script to read. So yeah, it's been great. I felt that I could trust what was gonna happen. We were talking in some interviews about our [Stabler family] dinner scene. That's a quintessential kind of John Shiban type thing, and it was great.
Alas, Organized Crime is moving on from yet another showrunner after making the move to streaming. For now, we can only wait for news of who his replacement will be and when Season 5 will actually be ready to premiere. In the meantime, you can always revisit the first four seasons streaming on Peacock and even tune in to SVU when it returns from its devastating fall finale just in case Benson mentions Stabler as an update.
