Jill Hennessy made a surprising claim about how Law & Order was nearly canceled before she joined the show because there was pressure to cast more women.
“To get a show like Law & Order — at that point, it wasn’t well-known,” she told Yahoo‘s Unapologetically series earlier this month. “I came in the fourth season, and it was about to be canceled.”
Hennessy, who played Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid, recalled being cast at a dire time, adding, “[Creator] Dick Wolf was being pressured to add women to the cast, so they decided to add two female characters.”
She continued: “[S. Epatha Merkerson] and myself [were added], and within that year, the ratings went up — and it just got more and more successful.”
Hennessy starred on the show until season 6, when Claire was killed in a car accident. Law & Order, which premiered in 1990, aired until 2010. It was then pulled off the air before returning to NBC in 2022. The TV universe has since grown with spinoffs Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Law & Order: LA, Law & Order True Crime and Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Law & Order as a franchise has been undergoing various shake-ups over the years. Most recently, news broke in May 2025 that Octavio Pisano and Juliana Martinez were leaving Law & Order: SVU at the end of season 26. Pisano, 39, originally joined Law & Order: SVU in season 23 while Martinez, 35, came on board during season 26. The show has since been officially renewed for season 27, and Michele Fazekas was announced as the series’ first female showrunner.
Kelli Giddish‘s Amanda Rollins officially returned in season 27 after she originally departed Law & Order: SVU in the middle of season 24 in 2022 following more than a decade on the show. She was a guest star in various episodes throughout seasons 25 and 26 before being confirmed as a series regular for the latest season.
All good things must come to an end, even when it comes to TV. Over the years, many television stars have suddenly left their roles — while others have been cut from a series without much notice. Anna Faris announced in September 2020 that she was leaving CBS’ Mom after starring as the lead character […]
Then, there is Law & Order: Organized Crime on Peacock, which has swapped showrunners from season to season. The police procedural, which premiered in 2021 on NBC, stars Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler, reprising his role from SVU.
When Stabler got his own show, Matt Olmstead took on the role of showrunner but ultimately stepped down later that year. He was replaced by Ilene Chaiken, who remained on the show for one season before Barry O’Brien took over. Bryan Goluboff became the showrunner for season 3 but left after three months. He was replaced by Sean Jablonski, who left due to “creative differences,” and David Graziano took over for the final episodes of the season.
After Law & Order: Organized Crime was renewed for a fourth season, John Shiban was brought on as the newest showrunner, but he didn’t stick around. By season 5, Olmstead was brought back to finish up the scripts as an executive producer.