NBC orders Law & Order: Hate Crimes as a spinoff of Law & Order: SVU

Deadline

NBC announced the 13-episode series from Law & Order creator Dick Wolf and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit showrunner Warren Leight that will be introduced on SVU later this season. The NYPD's actual Hate Crime Task Force, the second-oldest bias-based task force in the U.S., works under the real Special Victims Unit and often borrows SVU detectives to assist in their investigations. “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 in a statement. “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.” Leight added: “I’m extremely impressed by the actual men and women investigating these cases in a city as complicated and diverse as New York. The work they are doing puts them on the front lines in a battle for the soul of our city and nation. I’m thrilled about the chance to reunite with Dick and NBC to portray the reality of this crisis.”