Who says a franchise can’t evolve at 30 years and counting?
Spoilers ahead for Episode 10 of Law & Order Season 23, called “Inconvenient Truth.”
Law & Order took a look at the justice system in “Inconvenient Truth,” involving a victim who had spent years in prison after being wrongfully convicted, a possibly murderous lawyer whose fee was ruinous, and a case that seemed increasingly unlikely for Price and Maroun to close. If this was a typical episode of Law & Order, then the odds would have been in favor of prosecutors finding a miracle piece of evidence in time to get the conviction, or maybe for them to not get a guilty verdict after all. Instead, in a last-minute move, Price realized who the true killer was and could prove it.
And on the whole, in the 2024 TV schedule that has seen some changes for Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime, I can’t help but wonder if format change could be on the way for the original series as well, particularly in light of the recent renewal for Season 24.
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The killer in “Inconvenient Truth” seemed to be Keith Palmer, a powerful attorney on the verge of becoming a judge with every reason to want to protect his name. The evidence was shaky despite the best efforts from Shaw and Riley, but new DA Nicholas Baxter gave Price and Maroun his full support and the normal Law & Order formula meant that surely they’d get the conviction after all by the time the final credits rolled.
A traffic camera turned the case upside down, though, as Palmer was photographed in his car at a time when it was almost impossible for him to have been the killer. Price realized that he needed to drop the charges… but that didn’t mean the killer wasn’t caught. Through a tricky little maneuver, the good guys got a confession from the real murderer: Amanda Palmer, the wife of their original suspect.
It was a great “Gotcha!” moment at the end of the episode, even though there was no way to truly get justice for the man who had been murdered just after he’d been freed from wrongful imprisonment. And while it’s entirely possible that Law & Order will be back to the tried-and-true formula that has sustained it for 23 seasons going back to 1990, SVU and Organized Crime have proven this year that a franchise is never too old to try new things on an ongoing basis.
For example: SVU has been more serialized than usual in the milestone 25th season, particularly with the case of Maddie Flynn and addition of two new cast members to the team. Over on Organized Crime, the show got another new showrunner for the fifth season, and Breaking Bad alum John Shiban’s influence has been felt in some great ways, I’d say. Sure, OC hasn’t been renewed for Season 5 just yet, but I think Season 4 is one of the strongest yet due to the new directions. So, could Law & Order try some new things in what remains of Season 23 or eventually in Season 24?
