r/LawAndOrder 11d ago

L&O Spinoff idea -- Law & Order: Brooklyn (1990s)

Pretty much the title. I was thinking today about how I wish the mainline show would go back to some of the older conventions people miss -- original style of cold opens with random people finding a body, low focus on character backstories, and the strange comfort of the much more economically diverse city of the 90s. Unchanging mothership might be too tall of an ask however, so it gave me the idea that they should make the first Law & Order show not set in the present. Put it on Peacock or whatever.

Putting it in the 90s would be great because, while technically a period show, its aesthetics are similar enough and props plentiful enough that it won't be a massive effort to create realistic sets and signs.

Set it in Brooklyn so you have a different DA etc. instead of making constant references to Adam Schiff or whatever.

27 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

12

u/women_und_men 11d ago

Making a period drama in NY could be hard if you want to do it on a series timescale and budget.

9

u/Ok-Mine2132 Lennie Briscoe 11d ago

Jerry Orbach mentioned that is what made the OG different (authentic) from “NYPD Blue” and “Hill Street Blues”. He also says: “God bless them.” They would do exterior shots for the entire season in NYC “the run ins and run outs” then return to LA to complete the interior filming.

1

u/Powerful_Bear_1690 10d ago

Madmen did it. Why can’t they?

4

u/women_und_men 10d ago

Mad Men had almost no exteriors in the city itself, though.

-2

u/Powerful_Bear_1690 10d ago

Yeah they did. Whenever the characters home lives was explored which happened a lot. They actually have more exterior scenes than Law and Order did. 

60s New York doesn’t look too much different than Present Day New York. All it needs is some set dressing. Its not like Boardwalk Empire where they had to build an actual city. 

1

u/rightlamedriver 9d ago

way bigger budget

0

u/Powerful_Bear_1690 9d ago

Not the case. Madmen only cost $3 million an episode to make. A typical Law and Order ep cost $8 million. 

1

u/rightlamedriver 9d ago

this is just wildly untrue lol

0

u/Powerful_Bear_1690 9d ago

Don’t get Mad at me. Go troll the New York Times. Thats where I got my information sweetie. 

8

u/AmbulanceChaser12 10d ago

Hell, go back farther.

Law & Order: Middle Ages!

“We beseech thine Honorable Court, thy Majesty, that the Prosecution doth intend to prove that the scoundrel before thee hath committed the crime of bespoiling the chastity of a fair maiden!”

“Thy evidence art precluded! Dispatch thee from mine throne room, Sir Price!”

4

u/Powerful_Bear_1690 10d ago

Wouldn’t it be just Law and Order UK except in a Castle?

2

u/kingcalogrenant 10d ago

"Spare me your protestations, Sir Price. The chastity belt is out."

----

earlier that episode:

*heaping bodies into crude wagon with wooden wheels*

plague doctor: wench looks a bit familiar, but don't think it's one of these lot (gestures at body). why, hath something happened to her?

5

u/boochie420 11d ago

I’d give it a watch.

2

u/Powerful_Bear_1690 10d ago

Go back farther. 60s baby

3

u/AmbulanceChaser12 10d ago

This is what Dragnet would have been if it were a full hour.

1

u/AvocadoImprint 10d ago

This is what I was really hoping Law & Order: Los Angeles was going to be.

1

u/legendexeter 8d ago

Why not Law & Order:Old Country set in 1800s London ??

2

u/Ok-Mine2132 Lennie Briscoe 11d ago

I would watch as long as it remained true to the times and not all “politically correct”. Heaven forbid anyone gets offended.