Dick Wolf, You Were Warned

Dick Wolf, panda bears and paying by check.

Name three thin in danger of extinction.

In the infant stages of this blog I predicted that the Dick Wolfosphere was in danger, mostly because at the time NBC was favoring unfunny, middle of the road, inexpensive talk shows (see: Jay Leno Show, The) and exploitative, middle of the road, inexpensive reality shows (see: Biggest Loser, The).  Well, in the wake of Jay Leno’s failure (and after being rewarded for said failure with his old job) it then seemed that Wolf’s brand of populist pleasing, headline ripping, middle of the road yet relatively expensive gritty cop dramas would be safer than ever.

BUT, as you all probably know by now, that’s not the case, as NBC has pulled the plug on the original Law & Order (that’s a clever metaphor for how old Law & Order is).  Dick, I hate to say it, but I told you so (again).

Sure, they canceled L&O only to immediately greenlight Law & Order: Los Angeles, but I’ve still been proven right in my prognostication.

But what’s that you say?  TNT might strike a deal to air new episodes of the original?  Well, yes, we forecasted that too, back in last November when TNT saved Southland.  Flashback!

Of course, the big question is what does this all mean for Dick Wolf?  Well, TNT already airs syndicated episodes of the flagship Law & Order franchise, so perhaps Mr. Wolf will bring original episodes of the series here when NBC replaces his show with Dateline: To Catch a Biggest Loser.

Eerie, isn’t it?

Sorry, Dick, it’s not personal.  Trust me, I don’t take any pleasure in this.  My chances of landing an extra gig in New York City have just been reduced by half.  We’re all losers here (but you more so).