The Dick Wolf TV universe spans nine shows across two networks as the 2024 TV season approaches, and almost every weeknight of primetime is occupied by a Wolf Entertainment procedural. While there are now three FBI shows and three One Chicago shows to go with the Law & Order series, there was a time when SVU was the only spinoff of the original. The creator/producer has opened up about how many people work across his shows, and as a viewer of all nine and longtime fan of SVU, my mind was more than a little blown by Dick Wolf's comments.
The nine scripted shows under the Wolf Entertainment banner as 2023 turns into 2024 are Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Organized Crime, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, and FBI: International, and all nine are connected in one TV universe thanks to some key crossovers. During the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike that left the entertainment industry at a standstill for much of the year, Dick Wolf addressed just how many people were being affected.
Dick Wolf previously told YES! Weekly during the Law & Order/SVU days that between 120-150 people worked on each show; more recently, Wolf provided an updated figure to the outlet, saying:
It’s much more now. I was talking about actors and writers and crew. But when you get into post and scoring, and all the ancillaries that are not direct production costs, it’s closer to 300 people on a show. Right now, I’ve got about 3,000 people out of work.
I knew that the nine-show TV universe was expansive, but 3,000 people being out of work due to the strikes is still a shocking figure for me. Wolf went on to say that the 2023 work stoppage was his "fourth strike," and the 1987 strike "went on for six months and two weeks." The most recent strike lasted 148 days, which was just shy of the 153 days in the '80s.
Speaking over the summer when resolutions were still months away, the producer made the point that the strikes affect "everybody who works on those shows which are all shut down" and not just the writers and actors. Luckily, all nine of Wolf's scripted network TV shows are scheduled to finally return in the new year, starting with One Chicago on January 17 on NBC, the Law & Orders on January 18 on NBC, and the FBIs on CBS on February 13.
With six of the nine shows already hitting triple digits in episode counts (as FBI hit that milestone with the Season 5 finale in the spring), Dick Wolf has clearly found the recipe for success, and he addressed his knack for producing shows that remain relevant for more than thirty years:
I have a strange belief that if you put out good stuff the audience will buy it, and I only do stuff that I want to watch, and there’s not that much on TV that I want to watch that I don’t make. It sounds terrible, but it’s true.
Well, Dick Wolf isn't alone in wanting to watch the kinds of stories that are told in his franchise, going back to the earliest days of Law & Order and SVU! In the upcoming 13-episode Season 23, Law & Order will reach the incredible milestone of 500 episodes, after Sam Waterston's 400th episode aired as the Season 23 finale. SVU will hit 550 episodes with its upcoming Season 25. Chicago Fire will reach 250, and FBI: International will make it to 50. Fans are clearly still invested in these stories.
While all nine shows will return in the new year, you can always revisit earlier episodes in the meantime. All three current Law & Order shows are available streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription, as well as all three of One Chicago, FBI: International, and FBI: Most Wanted. FBI can be found streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.
