Criminal Intent's Seismic Shift

The Improper, 6.8.08
Between the Lines
By Winchester

"'Showrunner' Warren Leight Departs for 'HBO' Series"

This column is called “Between The Lines” mainly due to the fact that we attempt to look inside; to see what's really happening, to peel away the spin and go inside the story. This week, here in New York, a major shift occurred for one of my favorite TV shows, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” This was the third Law & Order show to come to fruition from producer/creator Dick Wolf, and it features the terrific Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe.

Every show on TV has a showrunner; usually they're part producer, part writer and part creative director. CI had as its showrunner for the past several years, playwright and writer Warren Leight. Leight and D'Onofrio crafted a whole new direction for the main character detective Bobby Goren; a brilliant investigator, but tortured soul, with a father he never really knew and a mother who slowly died as the series progressed. In fact, the entire last season dealt with the aftermath of that as well as the character re-connecting with a brother who had become an alcoholic as well as becoming drug dependent. Full article

Thanks Diane!