NBC brought back Law & Order Thursdays in the fall 2025 TV schedule with the return of Christopher Meloni's Organized Crime to primetime. While the network is technically airing edited versions of the fifth season that's already available streaming with a Peacock subscription, having Law & Order followed by SVU and then finally OC just feels right. I've been a fan this fall, but I'm also definitely not upset that all three shows are being bumped next week, and that's because of what's bumping them. Prepare to have a lot more music than a usual Law & Order Thursday with a dose of Wicked!
A two-hour TV special called Wicked: One Wonderful Night is scheduled for Thursday, November 6 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, and CinemaBlend's Rachel Rosenfield shared some "Glindelicious" reasons why people should tune in after seeing it filmed live. The special seemingly brings out almost the full cast of Wicked and the upcoming Wicked: For Good in the 2025 movie release calendar. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will be replacing Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler, and Tony Goldwyn's Nick Baxter in primetime that night, but it'll be a star-studded evening all the same. Take a look:
The special will include performances of some of the most iconic songs from the original movie, and it looks from the promo like the cast will make up for Jonathan Bailey's absence with Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, and Bowen Yang all sporting the Fiyero costume for what I can only assume is "Dancing Through Life." As a fan of the stage show, I'm excited to see any bits of songs that weren't in the first film... but I'm also kind of hoping that my favorite songs are left until the movie actually premieres. "No Good Deed" with full context on the big screen, please!
Now, if you're a Law & Order fan who isn't also a musical theater nerd like I am, there's no need to worry. NBC isn't putting all three shows on long hiatuses. Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU will be back with brand new episodes just one week after Wicked: One Wonderful Night, on November 13. Another Season 5 episode of Organized Crime will be broadcast as well that night. Law & Order Thursdays definitely aren't done; there's just going to be a week off for some Wicked fun.
Of course, there's presumably a limited number of Law & Order Thursdays left in the 2025-2026 TV season. NBC just aired the sixth episode of Organized Crime's ten-episode Season 5, so the network is nearly out of episodes. Plus, Melissa Roxburgh's The Hunting Party is expected to return for Season 2 in midseason 2026, which could mean as early as January or as late as the spring.
So, I'm going to just enjoy the musical theater interlude on November 6 with Wicked: One Wonderful Night and then however many installments of Law & Order Thursdays are left for the season. All three crime dramas are also available streaming via Peacock.
