NBC kicks off new variant of ‘Law And Order’

MUMBAI: A few days ago US broadcaster NBC kicked off the fourth variant of the courtroom drama series Law & Order called Trial By Jury. In India Law And Order airs on Star World.

The late legendary screen and stage actor Jerry Orbach will make his final appearance in the first two episodes, along with Emmy and Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth, Amy Carlson, Third Watch, Kirk Acevedo who starred in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers and Fred Thompson.

Law & Order: Trial By Jury takes viewers through the legal process from arraignment to trial, told not only from the point-of-view of the prosecutors and police but also from the perspective of defendants, defense attorneys, judges and jurors. From this omniscient perspective, viewers will be privy to ex-parte communications, intimate conversations between defendants and their attorneys, and a behind-the-scenes look at witness preparation and jury selection.

The show’s executive producer Dick Wolf says, “The thing that makes this show totally different from the other three shows is that it is the first one that has a differing point of view. The other brands Special Victims Unit and Criminal Intent are all told from the vantage of law enforcement or the prosecutors. This show has a 360-degree point of view where you’re going to see both defendants and defense attorneys and judges and jurors.”

Neuwirth portrays New York Assistant D.A. Tracey Kibre. She said, “What I’ve noticed about this show and which I find very interesting as an audience member, is to follow how the defense forms its case. You see a little bit more of how the whole case comes together from every single different perspective.”

In the first episode Abominable Showman Neuwirth tackled the case of a murdered aspiring Broadway actress. Kibre, joined by her unflappable deputy A.D.A. Kelly Gaffney (Carlson), work with Detectives Briscoe (Orbach) and Salazar (Acevedo) to pursue physical evidence, as they have no blood or body. The accused, an acclaimed but arrogant theater producer Kurt Lascher feels confident that his attorney Maggie Dettweiler played by Annabella Sciorra Jungle Fever will prevail.