NBC announced today (Fri. May 14) that they have officially canceled their popular legal series “Law & Order” after a 20-year run, tying with “Gunsmoke” as the longest-running drama in the history of television. “Law & Order” will have its series finale on Monday, May 24th at its regular 10 pm ET slot. Via press release:

“The full measure of the collective contributions made by Dick Wolf and his ‘Law & Order’ franchise over the last two decades to the success of NBC and Universal Media Studios cannot be overstated. The legacy of his original ‘Law & Order’ series will continue to make an impact like no other series before,” Jeff Gaspin, Chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment said in a statement.

POP EATER

“Law & Order” fans need not worry though as NBC has picked up “Law & Order: SVU (Special Victims Unit)” for a 12th season and an entirely new L&O franchise to be based in Los Angeles, nicknamed “LOLA” (short for “Law & Order: Los Angeles”) is already underway.