Published Jul 16, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT
After joining Screen Rant in January 2025, Guy became a Senior Features Writer in March of the same year, and now specializes in features about classic TV shows. With several years' experience writing for and editing TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include a wide range of genres, from comedies, animated series, and crime dramas, to Westerns and political thrillers.
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The flagship original series of NBC’s Law & Order franchise is returning to a key factor in its golden era on network television. Throughout the nineties and noughties, the procedural crime drama attracted millions of viewers, in part thanks to this crucial aspect of its broadcast, which was changed when it returned in 2022 after a 12-year hiatus.
Now, season 26 of Law & Order is hoping to revive the show’s former glory by restoring this factor in its success. When it airs as part of NBC’s fall schedule for 2026, the season will be broadcast at the later time of 10pm EST on Thursdays, as opposed to the 8pm timeslot it has had for the past five seasons.
For Pacific Time viewers, Law & Order will now air at 7pm on Thursdays, rather than 5pm. The flagship show will also follow a spinoff that’s been outperforming it in network ratings since its comeback. Special Victims Unit is consistently ranked as the best Law & Order series on television, so could boost the original show’s numbers by serving as a lead-in.
Law & Order’s 10pm EST timeslot was synonymous with the main series for 20 years, ensuring that it remained at the center of NBC’s crime genre output throughout the 1990s and 2000s. However, only time will tell whether the show will be able to regain its crown after returning to this timeslot.
Law & Order Will Be Back In Its Golden Era Timeslot This Fall
Law & Order debuted on NBC in the fall of 1990, airing on Tuesday nights at 10pm EST. In its third season, the show moved to Wednesdays, but continued with its famous 10pm timeslot. Season 3 ushered in a golden age for the series, with most of Law & Order’s best episodes coming between the mid-1990s and early 2000s.
When the show was moved to Fridays for season 17, it signalled the beginning of the end, even though it kept hold of its 10pm primetime slot in the schedule. Law & Order’s main series initially concluded in 2010, having already spawned three different TV spinoffs, with more on the way.
|
Seasons 1–2 |
Tuesdays, 10pm EST |
1990–1992 |
|
Seasons 3–16 |
Wednesdays, 10pm EST |
1992–2006 |
|
Seasons 17–20 |
Fridays, 10pm EST |
2006–2010 |
|
Seasons 21–25 |
Thursdays, 8pm EST |
2022–2026 |
|
Seasons 26–present |
Thursdays, 10pm EST |
2026–present |
By that time, spinoff Law & Order: Special Victims Unit had established itself as the franchise’s most acclaimed release, with original main series cast member Mariska Hargitay spearheading its cast as Captain Olivia Benson. When the main series returned in 2022, it was trailing far behind SVU in the ratings.
Yet, Law & Order’s revival came in a different timeslot from what fans had been used to in the nineties and noughties. Airing the show at 8pm EST on Thursday nights effectively prevented most viewers in the West of the United States from catching it in the schedule.
NBC’s schedule change for Law & Order season 26 has now returned the show to its rightful place. It’s back in its golden era timeslot of 10pm EST, albeit on a different day of the week. Since the original series first ended in 2010, NBC made Thursday its week night for scripted crime shows, rather than Wednesday.
NBC's 10pm Timeslot For Law & Order Is A Big Risk
PeacockLaw & Order’s move back to 10pm does come without risks, though. The show’s declining viewership in recent seasons wasn’t all about its earlier timeslot. It was also due to the departure of major original cast members such as Sam Waterston, and the fact that TV crime has changed considerably since its original run ended.
There’s a school of thought that NBC’s schedule change is a death sentence for Law & Order. The show’s aging fanbase might not want to tune in at 10pm anymore, while others will simply switch off after Special Victims Unit’s 9pm broadcast finishes.
In any case, reinstating this flagship serial drama to its original timeslot is worth a try, given that the show’s ratings are already suffering as it is. If Law & Order is to survive much longer, viewers will have to get back into the habit of watching their favorite fictional police detectives and lawyers later into the evening.
Release Date September 13, 1990
Showrunner Rick Eid
Directors Constantine Makris, Edwin Sherin, Jace Alexander, David Platt, Matthew Penn, Martha Mitchell, Don Scardino, Christopher Misiano, Jean de Segonzac, Michael Pressman, Daniel Sackheim, Alex Chapple, Fred Berner, Fred Gerber, Gloria Muzio, James Frawley, Jim McKay, Vincent Misiano, Michael W. Watkins, Vern Gillum, Alex Hall, Dann Florek, Darnell Martin, David Grossman
Writers René Balcer, Matt Witten, David Slack, Aaron Zelman, David Wilcox, Morgan Gendel, Pamela J. Wechsler, Lynne E. Litt, Marc Guggenheim, Stephanie Sengupta, Scott Gold, Walon Green, Gerry Conway, Sean Jablonski, Nick Santora, Chris Levinson, Christine Roum, Gordon Rayfield, Hall Powell, Keith Eisner, Julie Martin, Gia Gordon, Joe Gannon, Jonathan Collier
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S. Epatha Merkerson
Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
English (US) ·