Post by Trublu on Jul 26, 2005 10:45:36 GMT -5
'Jury' out but sets are in for Wolf's latest
By Paul J. Gough Tue Jul 26, 1:38 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Law & Order: Trial By Jury" might have been canceled by NBC, but its set is getting a new lease on life now that the network is developing a new series from Dick Wolf about assistant district attorneys in New York.
The "Trial By Jury" set will remain standing for at least a year in New York via an agreement between Dick Wolf Films and NBC Universal, Wolf said Monday at the Television Critics Assn.'s summer press tour in Beverly Hills. The sets are expected to be used in the production on the planned ADA series, which was pitched to NBC brass late last week.
"I fully expect to be in production within the time period" of the agreement on keeping the sets up, Wolf said.
Wolf said the new show would be much more character-driven with closed-end story lines and less of the procedural format of Wolf's "Law & Order," and its offshoots "Law & Order: SVU" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." He said the show also would be part of a youth movement at the franchise, with the average age of Manhattan assistant district attorneys being 28.
"It will be much more of an ensemble than the other shows, with time spent not necessarily on their personal lives but how they're driven, what made them, who they will become," Wolf said. "It's a very transitional age."
Wolf didn't shy away from the big elephant in the room, the cancellation of "Trial By Jury" after a midseason premiere.
"I was incredibly upset, disappointed, dismayed, any other adjective you care to use about 'Trial By Jury,"' he said. But Wolf said it was important to remember that the "Law & Order" brand and the relationship between Dick Wolf Films and NBC Universal is stronger than ever.
"The brand is the most important piece of business for both of us. This is more of a long-term marriage with no possibility of divorce," Wolf said. He pointed out that the shows have a combined 600 episodes among them and last year brought in more than $1 billion in advertising revenue.
"It's going to be around for a long time," Wolf said
Wolf and two stars, "SVU" actress Mariska Hargitay and "Criminal Intent" actor Vincent D'Onofrio, disputed a cookie-cutter image the shows have. Wolf said he didn't think television should be all procedurals, but that of the top 20 shows last week, four were "Law & Order" shows and three others were from the "CSI" franchise.
"Thinking out of the box is what we do every day," D'Onofrio said.
Hargitay agreed, "The subject matter we deal with, the concept it was based on, I don't know how much more out of the box you can get."
news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050726/tv_nm/jury_dc_1
By Paul J. Gough Tue Jul 26, 1:38 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Law & Order: Trial By Jury" might have been canceled by NBC, but its set is getting a new lease on life now that the network is developing a new series from Dick Wolf about assistant district attorneys in New York.
The "Trial By Jury" set will remain standing for at least a year in New York via an agreement between Dick Wolf Films and NBC Universal, Wolf said Monday at the Television Critics Assn.'s summer press tour in Beverly Hills. The sets are expected to be used in the production on the planned ADA series, which was pitched to NBC brass late last week.
"I fully expect to be in production within the time period" of the agreement on keeping the sets up, Wolf said.
Wolf said the new show would be much more character-driven with closed-end story lines and less of the procedural format of Wolf's "Law & Order," and its offshoots "Law & Order: SVU" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." He said the show also would be part of a youth movement at the franchise, with the average age of Manhattan assistant district attorneys being 28.
"It will be much more of an ensemble than the other shows, with time spent not necessarily on their personal lives but how they're driven, what made them, who they will become," Wolf said. "It's a very transitional age."
Wolf didn't shy away from the big elephant in the room, the cancellation of "Trial By Jury" after a midseason premiere.
"I was incredibly upset, disappointed, dismayed, any other adjective you care to use about 'Trial By Jury,"' he said. But Wolf said it was important to remember that the "Law & Order" brand and the relationship between Dick Wolf Films and NBC Universal is stronger than ever.
"The brand is the most important piece of business for both of us. This is more of a long-term marriage with no possibility of divorce," Wolf said. He pointed out that the shows have a combined 600 episodes among them and last year brought in more than $1 billion in advertising revenue.
"It's going to be around for a long time," Wolf said
Wolf and two stars, "SVU" actress Mariska Hargitay and "Criminal Intent" actor Vincent D'Onofrio, disputed a cookie-cutter image the shows have. Wolf said he didn't think television should be all procedurals, but that of the top 20 shows last week, four were "Law & Order" shows and three others were from the "CSI" franchise.
"Thinking out of the box is what we do every day," D'Onofrio said.
Hargitay agreed, "The subject matter we deal with, the concept it was based on, I don't know how much more out of the box you can get."
news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050726/tv_nm/jury_dc_1