New Law & Order Spinoff Headed to Canada

For decades, the Law & Order franchise has been one of popular culture’s most enduring peeks into the American justice system, with its iconic opening sequence detailing the dynamic between police officers and the courts. The recent revival of the original Law & Order even tackled those issues in its premiere, asking hard questions about what to do when the courts get something wrong. Well, now the franchise is going to take its first trip north of the border with Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent. The series, set to air on CityTV in Canada, will take place in Canda’s biggest city, and tell stories from a Canadian perspective.

Of course, Toronto is not too far from New York City, where we have seen plenty of Law & Order stories set in the past. According to The Hollywood Reporter, who broke the story, “the 10-episode drama will follow an elite squad of detectives who investigate high-profile crime and corruption in Toronto.” Production will begin this fall. Development has been underway since last year.

“The timeless appeal of the cases explored in the globally successful Law & Order franchise continue to draw in Citytv audiences week after week,” Hayden Mindell, senior vp television, Rogers Sports & Media, said in a statement.

“We are thrilled to be working with Lark Productions and Citytv to bring this series to life. We cannot wait to showcase our amazing city in the Law & Order franchise,” Amy Cameron said in a statement.

CityTV has been the network to air Law & Order and its numerous spinoffs in Canada. NBC and Universal Television have enjoyed a long run of success with the franchise, and now it seems the plan is to share the wealth a little bit. It will be interesting to see how and whether the structure of the show will shift at all to accommodate for differences between the Canadian and American justice systems.

No word yet on who will star or head up the series creatively. The THR report suggests the plan is to focus on Canadian stories and artists.

Law & Order Toronto will be produced by Lark Productions, a frequent NBC collaborator, and Amy Cameron’s production banner Cameron Pictures. Universal Television will distribute the series outside of Canada.

Law & Order would be the longest live-action, scripted primetime show in U.S. television history, if not for its spinoff, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Waterston, a fan-favorite, played Jack McCoy in 16 of the show’s original 20 seasons, first as an assistant district attorney and later as the DA.