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"Law & Order" shows getting Russian treatment

Posted on: Wednesday, 24 May 2006, 02:09 CDT

By Steve Brennan

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Russian television viewers soon will be getting their own versions of two of the "Law & Order" series -- replete with local cops, criminals and lawyers navigating the country's justice system.

Localized versions of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" are in preproduction in Moscow, and are scheduled to premiere this year on broadcaster NTV, their producers said Tuesday.

They initially will adapt the original U.S. scripts, taking into account language, culture and the local justice system.

"Realistically, both series travel better than the mother ship because the legal systems do vary in each country," said series creator Dick Wolf.

However, he added that the Russian legal system is "coming closer" to that of the United States. The State Department once sent over 10 episodes of the original "Law & Order" series to the Russian government to show how the U.S. legal system operates, Wolf said.

"This has been a dream for a long time," said Wolf, who has long maintained that the franchise has enormous international potential. Indeed, a French version of "Criminal Intent," announced in July, is slated for a spring 2007 launch on broadcaster TF1.

Added NTV programming head Eugeni Kucherenko, "Whatever differences may exist between Russia and the U.S.A., there is one area where we are united -- in our strong intent to fight crime. TV is a very influential medium, and this is why we strive to show that evil must not prevail and that law and order will always be on top in the fight."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Source: REUTERS

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