Law & Order: UK

Latest in the award winning series.

The TV series broadcast on ITV is based on the longest running award winning US cop shows Law & Order created multiple Emmy award-winning producer Dick Wolf. It is co-produced by Kudos Film and Television (Life on Mars), Wolf Films and NBC Universal.

Bradley Walsh (Torn, Coronation Street) plays the role of Detective Sergeant Ronnie Brooks, a genuine East End, copper, his  friend and partner is the charming Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin played by Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica, Hornblower, Ultimate Force) whose approach to policing is part seduction part force. Both report to Detective Inspector Natalie Chandler played by Harriet Walter(Atonement, Sense and Sensibility) who is a working mother who supports them through thick and thin. 

The legal side of the equation is covered by the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) team which comprises of the highly respected actor Ben Daniels (The Passion, The State Within, Cutting It) who plays the dedicated Senior Crown Prosecutor James Steel, a man dedicated to the pursuit of justice; Freema Agyeman best known for her work in Dr Who and Torchwood, who plays the hard working some would say workohollic, strong-willed young prosecutor Alesha Phillips; and the final member of the team is Bill Paterson (Little Dorrit, Criminal Justice, Sea of Souls) who is their boss and respected CPS director George Castle, a man who always has to tread the line between his ideals and conscience and the bigger picture.

Law & Order was created by Dick Wolf, and has grown from it's first episode in 1990 to be the most successful brand in primetime U.S. television history. It won the 1997 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and is the record holder for the most consecutive (11) nominations for a drama series.
Dick Wolf is quoted as saying "The 'Law & Order' brand continues to be very successful in France and Russia, and it has always been my dream to be able to produce a foreign version of the series in the UK. The creative team at Kudos and ITV has done a spectacular job of bringing my vision to life and I have every hope that Law & Order: UK will be a critical and commercial success."

The writer given the task of bringing Law & order: UK to life is Chris Chibnail as he had to select the right Law & Order stories to adapt for a British audience. He says: "I was looking for stories that I connected with emotionally, that had great opportunities for characterisation, and that felt relevant to Britain today. I watched about 150 episodes of the US Law & Order. Dick Wolf sent over a list of his favourite episodes and I watched all of seasons one to six, plus a number of episodes from seasons seven, eight and nine. It's a very addictive show so it's great to be getting paid to sit and watch them."
Talking of the difficulties in adapting a US series for the UK, Chris Chibnail says: "We are vigilant about being faithful to the Law & Order format, while also making sure that it feels fresh, modern and British as well. The stories have got to stand up strong in their own right, so you're constantly making sure that the characters are interesting and original and are rooted in this country. There is always a balancing act between making sure the stories are authentic from a legal perspective but also that they are dramatic. We sometimes had the issue of legal procedure which is different between the two countries. You had to be constantly vigilant, while honouring the source material and making sure the drama is as exciting as it can be for a British audience. "
"I'm thrilled by the roster of guest stars we have throughout the series. The US "mothership" Law & Order has a history of attracting extraordinary talent for guest parts and we've worked hard to carry on that tradition. Because every story is self-contained, each episode has a number of juicy guest appearances, which means a new treat for the audience week after week. Whether it's opposition barristers sparring with Ben Daniels, or witnesses, suspects and relatives facing a quizzing from Bradley Walsh and Jamie Bamber, we've been lucky enough to have so many great British actors guesting across the series".

Andrew Woodhead is the Executive Producer and Richard Stokes the Producer of the excellent new show Law & Order:UK, these are their comments on the show.

Why are you making a UK version of Law & Order?
Law & Order is one of the most creatively successful and popular television series of all time. Kudos was passionate about making a UK version and spent two years trying to make it happen. The mixture of Dick Wolf’s brilliant format and Kudos’ track record in stylish, ground-breaking television (Life on Mars, Spooks, Hustle, The Fixer) seemed the perfect creative match. This inspiration has led to a UK version of Law & Order of which we are all so proud.

What are the differences and similarities to the US version?
The format of Law & Order is genius. In LAW & ORDER: UK the format remains absolutely the same with the core team of six but with a British twist. That means certain issues and characters have changed from the US version. The emotional reactions and responses of our lead characters to the stories also varies: we focus on getting a sense of who they are through their emotional investment and passion for the story. But it's still the format that audiences around the world love.

How have the original stories changed?
Dick Wolf once said that Law and Order stories should feel like they are ripped from the headlines. We have adapted the stories to make them feel completely prescient and relevant to the UK in 2009. Relevant to a vibrant multi –cultural Britain.  The British and Legal and Police systems are also very different but as with Law and Order in the US we celebrate these systems, the majesty of the court and particular to this country, the weight of 1000 years of Legal history. Law and Order is a very hopeful piece of television about ordinary heroes, our characters are fighting for the victims and their loved ones. More often than not justice is done.

How far do we push the legal licence?
We always try to stay true to the spirit of the law and policing but it is also about finding the drama and human reaction.  We never do anything cynically manipulative in terms of the stories; this show is ultimately about celebrating the systems we have in this country.

Andrew Woodhead and Richard Stokes have also worked on Spooks, Life on Mars, Dr Who and Torchwood.

Click here to see the trailer.

Guests stars through the series will include Dervla Kirwan (Material Girl, Goodnight Sweetheart, Ballykissangel), Holly Aird (Casualty, Waking The Dead), Iain Glen (Diary of Anne Frank, City of Vice), Lesley Manville (Cranfield and Poirot), Patrick Malahide (Elizabeth 1, New Tricks), Colin Salmon (Dr Who, Secret Diary of a Call Girl), Juliet Aubrey (Middlemarch, Primeval), Sean Pertwee (The Tudors, Skins), Frances Barber (Hustle, Casualty), Cyril Nri (This Life, The Bill), Derek Riddell (Sarah Connor Chronicles, Ugly Betty) and Keith Barron (Dr Who, Coronation Street).

Let us know what you think of this show in our Law & Order:UK Forum click here