By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — For the second straight season, the mega producer Dick Wolf will preside over three nights of television on two broadcast networks.
Monday NBC announced the renewal of six Wolf dramas that run on Wednesday and Thursday nights. They are all three Chicago themed shows, and all three editions of “Law and Order.”
These six are shown locally on Channel 4 from 7-9 pm.
Wolf also has three dramas airing on CBS, locally on Channel 5, Tuesdays under the “FBI” umbrella during the same time period. This makes him the first producer to completely program three nights of prime time on two networks.
Several Black actors have major roles on these shows, among them Eamonn Walker on “Chicago Fire,” S. Epatha Merkerson on “Chicago Med” and Ice-T on “Law and Order-Special Victims Unit,” to cite just three who occupy supervisory or management roles on the shows.
NBC took longer than usual this time with renewal notices, and earlier this year floated the notion of returning an hour of prime time to their affiliates.
But in the end, they opted for another year of stability and reliability ratings-wise by renewing both Dick Wolf franchises in full. The same is true on Tuesday nights for CBS.
Though far from critical favorites and seldom nominated for industry awards, the nine shows Dick Wolf currently produces generate larger ratings and bigger audiences than many programs on cable or streaming services with more media fanfare and acclaim.
