NBC set to produce ‘Law & Order’ series focused on hate crimes
In a new iteration of the popular police drama, executive producer Dick Wolf's team will look at crimes that have to do with bias and its victims
It’s a true sign of the times.
On Tuesday, NBC announced it has given the greenlight to a “Law & Order: Hate Crimes” series, the latest installment to join the award-winning catalog of the long-running Law and Order TV shows, Variety reports.
READ MORE: Ayanna Pressley’s upset another win for fresh Democratic voices
According to the official show description, “Law & Order: Hate Crimes” is set in New York, where crimes motivated by discrimination are vigorously investigated by an elite, specially trained team of investigators. Going behind the headlines and viral videos, these diverse, dedicated and passionate detectives will stop at nothing to bring these criminals to justice.”
The show series from Dick Wolf has received a 13-episode commitment.
“As with all of my crime shows, I want to depict what’s really going on in our cities and shine a light on the wide-ranging victims and show that justice can prevail,” Wolf said.
“Twenty years ago when ‘SVU’ began, very few people felt comfortable coming forward and reporting these crimes, but when you bring the stories into people’s living rooms – with characters as empathetic as Olivia Benson – a real dialogue can begin. That’s what I hope we can do with this new show in a world where hate crimes have reached an egregious level.”
READ MORE: Tyler Perry gets involved in mysterious case of two men who vanished and the cop linked to it
The show was created along with former “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” showrunner Warren Leight. Wolf and Leight are creators and executive producers. The new unit of the show will air as part of the 20th season of “SVU.”
Law and Order is known to bring hard-hitting storylines that align with reality.
In 2013, the crime drama used real-life trials and crimes from the Trayvon Martin case for inspiration for an episode.
Shepherd played a vigilante-like character loosely based on George Zimmerman.
“SVU” will continue to air. Wolf plans to launch an FBI series on CBS in September.
Hate Crimes on the Rise
Many cases of hate crimes have been recorded on video or audio as more and more people of color have become targets of hate. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that more than 250,000 people in America are victims of hate crimes each year.
