‘Law & Order’ Season 26 Release Date, Time, Where to Watch and What to Expect From the Premiere
‘Law & Order’ returns to NBC on Thursday, October 8, and the new season will be available to stream the next day on Peacock. The premiere is scheduled for 10/9c, and it arrives as part of a reshuffled Thursday night lineup. The veteran procedural also comes back with a notable change to its squad room.
The series was renewed in May. It was one of the last NBC shows to learn its fate. This guide covers the release date, the new time slot, where to stream and what the first episode sets up.
Release Date and Time Slot Change
The new season premieres on Thursday, October 8, at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. After the premiere, new episodes will air on Thursday nights at the same hour.
The later start is a real change, since the series had been airing at 8/7c. The original series used to kick off the Thursday lineup, but ‘Special Victims Unit’ now airs first at 9 p.m. ET, followed by new episodes of ‘Law & Order’ at 10 p.m. ET.
The new season of ‘Special Victims Unit’ premieres the same night as ‘Law & Order’, which keeps the franchise paired on Thursdays. ‘The Traitors’ opens the evening. ‘Law & Order’ first premiered on September 13, 1990. The franchise has now passed 36 years on air.
Where to Watch on NBC and Peacock
Viewers can watch the premiere live on NBC and stream new episodes the following day on Peacock. That means episodes land on the streaming service on Fridays.
Peacock lists 25 seasons of the series, with nine of them currently available to stream. That gives newcomers a partial runway before the premiere, though longtime viewers will likely find gaps in the back catalog.
Peacock says viewers need an account to stream the series. Each episode follows a two part format, with the police investigation first and the prosecution second. That structure makes the live broadcast a natural fit for anyone who wants the full hour in one sitting.
Preview of the Premiere Episode
The season opens with an episode titled ‘Ghost in the Machine’. A software engineer’s murder sends Detectives Riley and Walker into the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence.
District Attorney Baxter pursues justice in a groundbreaking case and finds himself confronted with a technology that is advancing faster than the laws meant to govern it. Alex Hall directed the episode, and Rick Eid and Scott Gold wrote it.
Showrunner Rick Eid previously told Give Me My Remote that Vincent Kartheiser, known for ‘Mad Men’, appears in the first episode as a tech visionary. A promotional description says the character’s latest move leaves a path of destruction for Walker and Riley to trail.
Cast Changes Ahead for the Squad Room
According to an exclusive from Deadline, Reid Scott is leaving after three seasons as Senior Detective Vincent Riley, and his exit was amicable. James Badge Dale will succeed him as a new senior detective.
Riley will get a proper ending, as Scott returned to the set to film a few episodes that wrap the character’s arc before Dale is introduced. His farewell episode is reported to air on October 15.
Dale is known for ’13 Hours’ and ‘1923’. He will play Detective Rob Calvino. He joins returning cast members Tony Goldwyn, Hugh Dancy, Maura Tierney, Odelya Halevi and David Ajala.
Scott himself arrived on the series after Jeffrey Donovan left, and Riley first worked alongside Detective Jalen Shaw before Ajala’s Walker joined the precinct. The squad room has rarely stayed the same for long, so readers who have followed Walker through these partnerships can say in the comments whether Rob Calvino has a real chance of matching the rapport Walker built with Riley.
