Law & Order season 18
Law & Order (season 18) | |
---|---|
Season 18 | |
No. of episodes | 18 |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | January 2 – May 21, 2008 |
Season chronology | |
The 18th season of Law & Order premiered on NBC on January 2, 2008, and concluded on May 21, 2008.
Production
On May 13, 2007, NBC renewed Law & Order for an 18th season of 22 episodes as part of a deal made by series creator Dick Wolf and NBC.[1] Though the series was originally scheduled to air on Sundays as a midseason replacement for NBC Sunday Night Football,[2] TV Guide reported on December 4, 2007, that Law & Order would debut instead on Wednesday, January 2, 2008.[3]
René Balcer, who had developed and produced spinoff Law & Order: Criminal Intent, returned to Law & Order this season as executive producer.[4]
Cast and crew changes
In May 2007, cast member Fred Thompson departed the series to return to politics, with reports saying he would seek the Republican nomination for the 2008 U.S. presidential election.[5] His character, District Attorney Arthur Branch, was replaced in that function by Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy, with McCoy being promoted to Branch's vacant seat after serving as Executive Assistant District Attorney since the resignation of his predecessor Benjamin Stone.[6] Since this move required that a new character be added to the series, the writers created the role of EADA Michael Cutter and British actor Linus Roache was brought in to portray him.[7]
Because of the equal-time rule, which requires that broadcasters treat legally qualified political candidates equally in regard to air time, NBC announced in July 2007 that it would not broadcast any episode of Law & Order in which Thompson appeared after September 1.[8] However, Thompson did not officially declare his intention to seek nomination until September 5, 2007, when he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[9]
Milena Govich, who played Detective Nina Cassady, also did not return to the series after joining the cast one year earlier following the departure of Dennis Farina (Joe Fontana).[10] She was replaced by Jeremy Sisto, who had guest starred as a defense attorney in the 17th season finale, as Detective Ed Green's new partner Cyrus Lupo.[11]
Rounding out the list of departures was Jesse L. Martin, who announced he was leaving the series after portraying Det. Ed Green since 1999.[12] Martin, who was scheduled to appear in only 13 episodes this season, announced the move in February 2008 and made his final appearance in "Burn Card". Anthony Anderson, who made his debut as Detective Kevin Bernard in the same episode, was then added to the cast.[13] This remained the main cast until the end of the series.
Cast
Main cast
- Jesse L. Martin as Ed Green (episodes 1-14)
- Jeremy Sisto as Cyrus Lupo
- Anthony Anderson as Kevin Bernard (episodes 15-18)
- S. Epatha Merkerson as Anita Van Buren
- Linus Roache as E.A.D.A. Michael Cutter
- Alana De La Garza as A.D.A. Connie Rubirosa
- Sam Waterston as I.D.A. Jack McCoy
Recurring cast
Episodes
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
394 | 1 | "Called Home" | Allen Coulter | René Balcer | January 2, 2008 | 18001 | 13.45[14] |
395 | 2 | "Darkness" | Michael Dinner | William N. Fordes & David Slack | January 2, 2008 | 18006 | 13.45[14] |
396 | 3 | "Misbegotten" | Michael Watkins | David Wilcox & Stephanie Sengupta | January 9, 2008 | 18002 | 11.05[15] |
397 | 4 | "Bottomless" | Alex Chapple | Ed Zuckerman | January 16, 2008 | 18004 | 11.55[16] |
398 | 5 | "Driven" | Alan Taylor | Richard Sweren & Gina Gionfriddo | January 23, 2008 | 18009 | 10.33[17] |
399 | 6 | "Political Animal" | Jean de Segonzac | Ed Zuckerman & David Slack | January 30, 2008 | 18011 | 11.14[18] |
400 | 7 | "Quit Claim" | Jim McKay | William N. Fordes & David Wilcox | February 6, 2008 | 18010 | 10.07[19] |
401 | 8 | "Illegal" | Constantine Makris | William N. Fordes & David Slack | February 13, 2008 | 18003 | 10.24[20] |
402 | 9 | "Executioner" | Constantine Makris | Richard Sweren & Gina Gionfriddo | February 20, 2008 | 18012 | 10.85[21] |
403 | 10 | "Tango" | Dean White | Stephanie Sengupta | February 27, 2008 | 18013 | 11.45[22] |
404 | 11 | "Betrayal" | Marc Levin | Richard Sweren & Gina Gionfriddo | March 5, 2008 | 18005 | 9.68[23] |
405 | 12 | "Submission" | Constantine Makris | Ed Zuckerman | March 12, 2008 | 18007 | 11.68[24] |
406 | 13 | "Angelgrove" | Darnell Martin | David Wilcox & Stephanie Sengupta | March 19, 2008 | 18008 | 10.45[25] |
407 | 14 | "Burn Card" | Mario Van Peebles | Ed Zuckerman & David Wilcox | April 23, 2008 | 18014 | 12.63[26] |
408 | 15 | "Bogeyman" | Tim Hunter | Teleplay by: Richard Sweren Story by: Richard Sweren & Gina Gionfriddo | April 30, 2008 | 18015 | 9.62[27] |
409 | 16 | "Strike" | Marisol Torres | William N. Fordes & David Slack | May 7, 2008 | 18016 | 8.76[28] |
410 | 17 | "Personae Non Gratae" | John Coles | Stephanie Sengupta & Matthew McGough | May 14, 2008 | 18017 | 8.35[29] |
411 | 18 | "Excalibur" | Jim McKay | René Balcer & Ed Zuckerman | May 21, 2008 | 18018 | 8.45[30] |
References
- ^ "NBC Renews Original L&O; Criminal Intent Goes to USA". TV Guide. May 13, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ Mitovich, Matt (May 14, 2007). "NBC's Fall Banks on Bionic Woman, Other Heroes". TV Guide. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ Mitovich, Matt (December 4, 2007). "Law & Order, Legal at Last, Cops a New 'Tude". TV Guide. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ Mitovich, Matt (May 21, 2007). "Let's Make a Deal: Veteran Producer Returns to L&O". TV Guide. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ Cameron, Carl (May 31, 2007). "Fred Thompson Quits 'Law & Order,' Moves Closer to 2008 White House Bid". FOX News. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ^ Mitovich, Matt (June 8, 2007). "New Law & Order DA Predicts "Fireworks"". TV Guide. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ "Linus Roache to Join NBC's 'Law & Order' Cast". FOX News. July 18, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ^ "NBC to Drop Fred Thompson in Reruns". TV Guide. July 17, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ Steve McGookin (September 5, 2007). "Thompson Finally Steps Onstage". Forbes. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ "'Law and Order' Casting News: Milena Govich Out, Jeremy Sisto In". Tv Jots. June 1, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ^ Mitovich, Matt (June 1, 2007). "In Today's Casting News: A New L&O Cop, a Heroes Mutant". TV Guide. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ "Out of Order: Jesse L. Martin Calls It Quits". TV Guide. February 21, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ^ Rudolph, Ileane (April 23, 2008). "Will Anthony Anderson Bring New Order to Law & Order?". TV Guide. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ^ a b Gorman, Bill (January 8, 2008). "Top NBC Primetime Shows, Dec 31 - Jan 6". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (January 10, 2008). "Overnight Results for Wednesday, January 9". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (January 17, 2008). "Overnight Results for Wednesday, January 16". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (January 24, 2008). "Overnight Results for Wednesday, January 23". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (January 31, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings: Weds, Jan 30: Idol Reigns". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (February 7, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Wed, Feb 6: Idol Moment". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (February 14, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Wed, Feb 13: Another Idol Moment". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (February 21, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings for Wed Feb 20: Idol Rules, CBS Needs to Fire People". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (February 28, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings for Wed Feb 27: Idol Dominates, Les Moonves Gives Up". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (March 6, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings for Wed, March 5: Woe is Big Brother". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (March 13, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings for Wed, March 12: Idol Cruises as CBS Ages". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (March 20, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Wed, March 19: FOX Crushes Competition". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (April 24, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings April 23: Waving Goodbye to Jesse L. Martin on Law & Order". Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Seidman, Robert (May 1, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings April 30, 2008: CBS Improves, Boston Legal and Law & Order Suffer". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (May 8, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings May 8, 2008: Worst May Sweeps EVER!". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (May 15, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings May 14: FOX Wins, Idol Set for David vs. David Battle". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (May 22, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings May 21, 2008: David Cook Wins, Now You Can Too". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
External links
Preceded by Season Seventeen (2006-2007) |
List of Law & Order seasons (1990-2010) |
Succeeded by Season Nineteen (2008-2009) |