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'Law & Order' Canceled by NBC After 20 Seasons

By DNAinfo Staff on May 14, 2010 7:23am  | Updated on May 14, 2010 3:33pm

After 20 seasons,
After 20 seasons, "Law & Order" may finally come to an end.
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Photo: NBC Universal

By Olivia Scheck

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — "Law & Order," the beloved New York crime drama, has been canceled by NBC after 20 seasons on the air.

"NBC will end its historic and record-tying Law & Order when the mothership series concludes its 20th season on Monday, May 24," NBC said in a statement.

People involved with the show received word Thursday afternoon that the program would be axed by NBC, according to the New York Times.

"The legacy of his original ‘Law & Order’ series will continue to make an impact like no other series before." said Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment.

"Law & Order," which first aired in 1990, is tied for the title of longest-running prime-time drama on network television with "Gunsmoke," which ran from 1955 to 1975. The animated comedy "The Simpsons" is the longest running prime-time television series with 21 seasons and counting.

A mainstay for New York City actors, the show and its spinoffs — "Law & Order: S.V.U." and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" — are estimated to employ more than 8,000 people, directly and indirectly, within the city, according to the paper.

“It’s a kick in the gut to New York,” Fred Berner, one of "Law & Order's" executive producers, told the Times of its potential cancellation.