Good news, Law & Order Criminal Intent - and Vincent D'Onofrio - fans!
Deadline.com reports that USA has picked up Law & Order criminal Intent for an 8-episode 10th (and final) season with the original star, Vincent D’Onofrio as Detective Robert Goren. Talks are still underway with Kathryn Erbe and other former stars of the show (excluding Jeff Goldblum). Read the story here on Deadline.com: USA has picked up Law & Order criminal Intent for an 8-episode 10th season
Update 6:30 PM: Here is the official press release from USA Network
VINCENT D'ONOFRIO TO RETURN FOR TENTH SEASON OF "LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT
Studio makes pilot commitment to new Wolf project
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - September 21, 2010 - Vincent D'Onofrio, who portrayed Detective Robert Goren on Dick Wolf's hit USA Network series LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT for eight seasons, will return for the tenth and final season, it was announced today by Jeff Wachtel, president original programming, USA & co-head original content Universal Cable Productions. USA Network will air eight all new episodes beginning in 2011.
In addition, Universal Cable Productions has made a pilot commitment for a new project with Wolf Films.
"We have been the fortunate caretakers of this legendary series, and we plan to give it the world-class farewell it so richly deserves. Dick and his team promise to create a major event for television with incredible surprises," said Wachtel. "The plan is for this to be the series finale, but with a Dick Wolf franchise, one really never knows until it's over."
"I want to thank Bonnie and Jeff for bringing CRIMINAL INTENT back for a 10th season," said creator and executive producer Wolf. "Only time will tell if this is a fond farewell or a renaissance for Detective Robert Goren but everyone both here and in New York is ecstatic about going back to work on a show that's a passion for all of us. Signed, Brett Favre."
D'Onofrio gained attention for his intense and compelling performance in 1987 with a haunting portrayal of an unstable Vietnam War recruit in Stanley Kubrick's gritty "Full Metal Jacket." He received an Emmy Award nomination in 1998 for his riveting guest appearance on the critically acclaimed series "Homicide: Life on the Street" episode, "The Subway." Recently D'Onofrio directed, produced and starred in a short film, "Five Minutes, Mr. Welles" and co-starred in the film "Brooklyn's Finest" opposite Richard Gere and Don Cheadle.
LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT, produced by Wolf Films and Universal Cable Productions, created and executive produced by Emmy Award-winning producer Dick Wolf, was developed by Rene Balcer. Shot entirely in and around New York City, the third installment of the "Law & Order" franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.
LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT is a Wolf Films production in association with Universal Cable Productions.
USA Network is the #1 network in all of basic cable and is seen in over 98.5 million U.S. homes. A division of NBC Universal, USA is the cable television leader in original series and home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, acquired television series and entertainment events. The award-winning USA website is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.
USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.
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36 comments:
Hooray! I know this marks the end but it's a fitting close. Glad D'Onofrio is coming back.
I'm ambivalent. If they fire Walon Green and bring on a competent show runner I'll be happy. If not, there's a chance that it will be as painful as season 8 and Loyalty was. It's kind of like do you want a slow and painful death or do you want it to be quick and painless?
I'll wait and see how things progress.
Music Wench I AGREE 100% with you! I'm glad D'Onofrio/Erbe are back - but if the episodes are 'clunkers'... well *sigh*.
I hear USA Network is making a deal w/ Wolf on another "Law & Order" project, my guess is this rumored "Law & Order: Miami".
Erbe has not agreed to come back yet - the deadline story says they are in discussions with her.
For all the whining some of the fans made, they had better watch the show when it comes back.
Right now I have mixed feelings too. Of course I will be watching because of Vincent... but I'm still angry (and always will be) with USA/NBC.
Honestly, as I see it, USA did the respectable thing. Criminal Intent is an expensive show to keep running, seeing how it came from NBC to USA. They negotiated with Wolf to bring back another season, to give us the fans a finale, and closure compared to NBC and what they did with L&O. And they wouldn't have done it without D'Onofrio too, which shows USA knows what they're doing. And they know this will be a successful last season, because the fans love VDO, and they will come back for him. I know I'm gonna be watching it (I watched part of season 9, but not all of it yet) 'cause of VDO. Hell, Wolf even gets to have yet ANOTHER pilot on USA with VDO in it, which makes me even happier, despite how much I love CI's creativity for the most part. Who knows, maybe we will be seeing VDO still as Goren, as I'm hoping and praying. But this is a win for us CI fans, despite the lack of episodes, and the fact that it's the final season. We technically won by having VDO come back. Cherish this moment, that's all I'm gonna say, 'cause you're not gonna have someone who will do so much for the fans, and for the show as USA did for Wolf.
Well, at least CI can have a proper closure.
Hopefully the episodes will be of the same quality that the NBC era episodes were.
Personally I'd think it would be cool to bring back the original CI theme for these final episodes, to give it the "classic CI" feel that most of the USA era episodes didn't have.
The proper closure would have been with Goren having a final confrontation with Nicole Wallace.
They really butchered closing out that story line.
Still, they really need to remove Green and get a proper writer and director in there for these last episodes.
I will watch them.
I'm with you,Angrywolf - the return of Nicole Wallace would be the best way to end. I just hope Vincent earns the millions he will be making instead of walking thru the role as he did his last 2 seasons. And PLEASE no more relatives or nervous breakdowns!
The FIRST thing USA has done right: brought back D'Onofrio (and I pray Erbe)!
At least Wolf and USA are doing the respectful thing, instead of leaving the series (as NBC did Law & Order) and replacing with another right off the bat (being Law & Order: Los Angeles).
Whereas USA has said let's end Law & Order: CI PROPERLY and THEN bring in the new show, (said to be Law & Order: Miami).
Way to go USA! And Vincent, welcome back!
I also agree that the theme needs to go back to the original version (and they should change ALL the images in the opening sequence, excluding the 'Goren lean').
Goren's outgrown the silliness of having a personal nemesis - forget Nicole!
With only 8 episodes they can have a single storyline - I still like the idea of going back to the relationship between Gage and Sebastian. Was there a reason that Goren stopped talking about profiling after his brother's death? Some reason he began to doubt the science he learned from Gage and had used all those years?
And: you mean without Zach but with what's-her-name? Maybe she can leave for Afghanistan to go work on her Urdu in the first episode, necessitating Eames' urgent return - make the CoD beg.
(BTW, told you Loyalty was a cliffhanger, not an ending.)
I am so thrilled to see Vincent returning as Robert Goren! I hope this means that soon we will know that Kathryn Erbe will return as Eames and I even hope for at least some appearances by Courtney Vance and maybe Jamey Sheridan. And maybe Rene Balcer producing?
Eight episodes isn't a lot but I hope DW and USA will realize that this will mean doing it right - I really don't want to see Nicole Wallace again, but neither do I want to see any more Bobby angst - bring back the glory days of Seasons 1 through 5!
Those seasons were some of the best TV I've ever seen, I mean it.
Looking forward to Season 10.
This is all worthless without the return of Eames, so until then, no thanks.
Like Letsallchant said! I love VDO, but what made the show as the VDO/KE dynamic. Bring KE back, too.
I agree about the dynamic, but I mean It's all about what Erbe wants too. Maybe she's already moved on. I have a strong feeling USA and Wolf want her back. But hell, once again, VDO is back, and he's who I care about the most.
Very good news! But they really need to get Erbe on board. It won't be a fitting good bye without her.
My fingers are crossed. Really, perhaps they'd better make it up to us in this handful of eps for the crap we've had to endure in the last season. A good show runner would be good. Rene Balcer would be great (tho unlikely). Good stories would be a godsend. Cameos of the original would be spectacular!
Agree with Music Wench, Sara and eric. Not only do we finally have some news about 'CI' but VDO is returning too!
Of course, the show wouldn't be complete without KE as well. And Rene Balcer as showrunner, but that's probably wishful thinking.
I'm happy to hear about this. I wish they would bring back the mothership too. Maybe there is hope.
Anyway, thanks Dick Wolf and USA for this gift to LOCI fans!
Are USA expecting our thanks? Sorry, but I'm not thanking them. They are not doing this for the fans, but for themselves. I think they owed us instead.
As far as I'm concerned any 'thanks' for a season 10 belong to Vincent, because without HIM they have no show - and they've finally acknowledged that simple fact. I also can't imagine Vincent would agree to go back without Kate. They started C.I. together, and I sincerely hope that's how it's going to end.
Lizzie :)
A lesson for Dick Wolf - it's not just the weekly stories. Especially not when the over-arching theme becomes the growth and maturation of the lead character. We watched Goren slowly and painfully grow up - did Wolf really not expect a rebellion when he was suddenly and messily terminated? And Eames as well? It makes a sour joke of everything she went through all those years of keeping Goren going. Now, will they dare to show the new, calmer, in-control Goren, or settle for going back to his juvenile self - a young man much too much impressed with his own cleverness?
I do like the idea of a single idea stretched out over eight episodes - that would effectively turn season ten into a miniseries, which would be really cool. Alternatively, if filling eight hours of TV with one solid story proves too much, they can have a self-contained 'A' story each week, with a season-long 'B' narrative as well. And, if the writers are daring and ambitious, the 'B' story can come to a climax in a two-part finale to wrap up the show! What do you reckon, guys? Maybe something involving Callas for the 'B' story?
Oh wait, maybe not... MEM's left, hasn't she?
gahks:
Jeff and Saffron are gone, MEM is said to still be with the cast (nothing permanent says she left).
I'm not watching with just D'Onofrio, Erbe better be with him.
All Things, after CI is done it's been rumored that Law & Order: Miami was coming afterwards - is that true; or is it just in the air?
Maybe the Wolf Films pilot project alluded to in the article might be the first hints of a "Law & Order: Miami"?
This started out as an online grassroots campaign - perhaps the powers that be have heard what the fans wanted.
Lynn, I haven't heard any specifics on what may be next for the franchise - including anyt kind of Miami thing. All we can do is stay tuned!
From what I can tell, that's only a rumor someone on the USA's CI board made up as a next 'spinoff' idea. At this point, we only know USA has committed to a pilot from Dick Wolf and apparently VDO is going to be in it.
Why would a spin-off have to be another Law & Order:[fill in the city]? What people apparently wanted from CI was Goren & Eames - why not just go straight to the two of them working as freelancers (private art recovery comes to mind, with perhaps the occasional murder thrown in). 'Goren & Eames: Consultants' or something? This could keep them based in NYC, where they're at home, but allow setting the stories in other locations for variety. The plots almost don't matter - I think they could read the telephone book to each other and make it work. It was the almost exclusively unspoken communication between the two of them that made their episodes distinguishable from the B-teams' - that less-than-a-minute in Vanishing Act where the magician reads Eames' mind should have earned an Emmy for each of them. And people wrote on the blogs how good it was to see them "back to normal," playing around with the magic props. No wonder if they didn't want to do this any more.
oh snap...
I liked Nicole Wallace.
So what do you naysayers want the 8 episodes to be about ?
How should CI go out ?
Of course we all want it to go out with a bang.And make all of us proud.Make it a tour de force.
But how to make that happen ?
Well, hallelujah! I was afraid CI would go out like the mothership. And we get Vincent to boot! I hope they throw in Jeremy Sisto too (or put him in LA or SVU). L&O Miami? How about Toronto instead? I want to see all the former Degrassi cast members get a new gig.
I could actually see a 'Goren & Eames: Consultants' type show working very well on USA Network. It'd be a stylish, grittier, darker reworking of things like 'Charlie's Angels' or 'The A Team' but in a crime drama context(maybe).
@ gahks -
I don't think USA is into dark and gritty - and I'm almost certain Eames isn't. Goren's going to have to make her a pretty good offer if the NYPD wants her back (as a lieutenant, remember, with a pension in a few years, if nothing else). So Mrs. Harrington (the socialite whose life Goren saved a while back) offers him/them an old brownstone she happens to have lying around for a base to get him/them to take on a hush-hush job for a good friend, and they're off. Eames (on inspecting the premises and mentally measuring for drapes): "And to think what people used to do to avoid living over the shop."
Haha.
Okay, maybe not dark and gritty, but certainly stylish, in the vein of NBC's 'Undercovers' perhaps?
I'd nab Dean Winters as a cast member if there were a "Law & Order: Miami." He'd be good in that. Or even as a sidekick in the Goren/Eames thing.
gahks -
Stylish is ok (Bobby gets a new tie-clip?). I haven't seen Undercovers, but from the promos, yeah, something like that. Although more cerebral - Goren is not into footraces or fisticuffs. And Wolf is not into sex. As for casting - that's 'way above my grade level (I don't watch TV enough to know the actors.) But you're right, they'll need part-timers, at least - "The Irregulars." Rodgers can do the scientific analysis they need (she'll complain about the lack of corpses, of course, but as Goren will point out, the pay is fantastic and the equipment better than what she had at NYPD).
So why are they taking so long to announce this new show? It's obviously going to be wonderful.
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