It's chaos in the world of Dick Wolf and "Law & Order."
Last year at this time, we told you NBC was going to cancel the series after 17 seasons and countless, ceaseless reruns in syndication. But the network relented.
Now NBC is sharpening its axe again, looking at both classic "L&O" and spin-off "Criminal Intent" as prime shows to cross off its schedule for next year.
Already told she's out at "Law & Order" is producer Jamie Crowell Blank. She was a controversial presence anyway based on a still unsettled sexual harassment brought by a former staffer.
Wolf is also telling insiders that if "Law & Order" is renewed, he's dumping Jesse L. Martin and Milena Govich, who play the cops on the show. Wolf is coming up with a plan to cut the show's weekly budget in half, and replacing those actors with less expensive ones would be a way to do that, sources say.
But there's another problem on "Law & Order": S. Epatha Merkerson, the much-admired actress who has been with the show from the start, is unhappy.
Merkerson, who plays a desk-bound cop, has been complaining for years of not having enough airtime. Lately scripts have had her out on investigations, but Merkerson's recent raft of awards and nominations for HBO's "Lackawanna Blues" has emboldened her to make demands and to consider leaving the show altogether.
