<p id=”par-1_13″>The verdict is in. <em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/law-order-originally-canceled-didnt-enough-women.html/”>Law & Order</a> </em>will return to a 26th season. </p>
<p id=”par-2_38″>The long-running procedural was one of the last in-limbo shows waiting for a renewal decision from NBC. (The fate of <em>The Hunting Party </em>is still up in the air. <em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/nbc-canceled-this-brilliant-minds-2-seasons.html/”>Brilliant Minds</a> </em>was canceled last week after two seasons.) </p>
<p id=”par-3_41″>According to <a href=”https://deadline.com/2026/05/law-and-order-to-be-renewed-season-26-nbc-1236886905/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Deadline</a>, which was first to report the news, the upcoming season of the Dick Wolf series is not being presented as the final season. However, some cuts could be on the horizon in order to keep costs under control.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-1″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”Stalker Admits to Killing His Crush on Her Birthday | Law & Order | NBC” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/YJEOf7qJx0I?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/chris-meloni-reacts-law-order-organized-crime-cancellation.html/”>
Chris Meloni Chokes Up as He Reacts to ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ Cancellation: ‘It Was a Great Ride’ </a>
</p>
</div>
<p id=”par-4_76″><em>Law & Order </em>premiered in 1990 and ran for 20 seasons before it was abruptly canceled in 2010. It spawned multiple spinoffs, including the recently canceled <em>Law & Order: Organized Crime </em>and the venerable <em>Law & Order: SVU. </em>The latter is heading into its 28th season and is now the second-longest running scripted primetime series in the U.S., after <em>The Simpsons. Law & Order </em>is in the No. 3 spot, with a total of 543 episodes. </p>
<p id=”par-5_34″>NBC revived <em>Law & Order </em>in 2022. The main cast currently includes Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Tony Goldwyn, Odelya Halevi, Maura Tierney, and David Ajaja. All season 25 episodes are now streaming on Peacock. </p>
<p id=”par-6_11″><em>For more news and exclusive interviews, follow </em><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/showbizcheatsheet/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s Instagram</em></a><em>.</em></p>