Two Showrunners replace Warren Leight
From Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood, 7.29.08
EXCLUSIVE: Talk about flattering. I've just learned that Warren Leight has been replaced by not one but two executive producers on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Sources tell me that Dick Wolf's plan is to break the 16-episode season into two sets of 8 episodes each. Walon Green will exec produce the 8 episodes starring Vincent D'Onofrio, while Robert Nathan will exec produce the episodes starring newcomer Jeff Goldblum who replaced Chris Noth. And of course Wolf supervises everyone. I broke the news back on May 31st that, within days of USA Networks renewing CI and in the middle of hammering out his new CI deal, Leight jumped to HBO's In Treatment.
Full article
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From Variety
Dick Wolf has stated his dual intentions for season eight of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
Wolf plans to split the 16-episode season between longtime "L&O" denizens Walon Green and Robert Nathan, with Green exec producing eight episodes starring Vincent D’Onofrio and Nathan serving as EP for the eight featuring newcomer Jeff Goldblum, who has replaced Chris Noth....
Thanks Linda!
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From UPI Thanks Amy!
posted by thereel @ 4:12 PM
17 Comments:
I hope the new showrunner bring back the old bobby.
Sounds terrible to me and confirms me in my decision not to watch anymore. It puts the programme firmly under centralised control. these are Mothership people and i have no interest in that tired format,find it boring.
This post has been removed by the author.
Sorry, I deleted my post unintentionally.
I place it again.
Why am I not able to get to like the idea of Goldblum?
I’m not even sure I’d like to see him interact with VDO….
I’m not against the guy on his own, just, I would have rather a character totally different from Goren. Someone like Lieb Schreiber’s character in CSI, a dead pan and “implosive” kind of quirkiness….
Only my opinion of course XD
Only more G/E eppies ...I’ll treasure them like gold…
It's really sad when people make decisions about season 8 before one episode has even been filmed yet!
Good luck to both Gentlemen....I can't wait to see what they do. Long Live CI!
Just glad to have CI renewed but would have liked 22 episodes-
Will see how this works out but was really hoping that one of the current writers would get the job-
Regi.
It bugs me that people are screaming bloody murder (!) before even seeing what the new showrunners will do. Give the boys a chance. They were put in place for a reason. They're not idiots and not newbies at this. They understand CI's format, they understand the differences from the Mothership. They've worked under Rene Balcer, for crying out loud! You should be HAPPY, really, if you think about it!
Wait and see, judge once you've let them hit their stride.
As far as things go, it seems like people at the piers are happy with the new appointments. I, for one, look forward to the new episodes and to Goldblum's new character. You'll now have two strong male leads on board -- and maybe the new blood will renew critic interest in the show enough to get the Emmy folk interested in CI again. I wouldn't be surprised to see an Emmy nomination go to Goldblum next year, just because he's new...
Actually Curly,people were obviously happy working under leight too and there was no artistic reason for him to go.The ratings were high,critics were favourable,Bonnie hammer was pleased and renewed for an eighth season under HIS pitch, no one elses. The writing was of a very high quality, though not tradional procedural, and alot of people joined up to watch LOCI after season 4 because it had that additional touch.
And If Goldblum gets an Emmy as you say, that would be the last straw. If anyone deserves it, VDO does, not the newcomer.
As long as they know what they're doing - and I doubt Dick Wolf would employ idiots - I don't see what the fuss is about. How on earth can you reach a conclusion on something, or someones merit, before one scene has been filmed?! No one's holding a gun to anyone's head to watch. I'm happy to see what the end of Season 7 and the shiny new Season 8 holds for us, and will ride this train with Vincent until such time as we get to the end of the line.
Trcyk63 said, this doesn't have anything to do with the showrunners, i'm making a comment on Jeff goldblum. I hope that by bringing him on for season 8 doesn't mess up the ratings and put the show into canceling mode because his show detective Raines didn't last to long, and i didn't really care for that show at all so lets just hope that it wasn't a bad idea them bringing him to the show. Also i think that as fans of this show i think that we should push the issue somehow of getting Dick Wolf and whoever else he talks to, to bring back 22 episodes of Law and OrderCI, i mean 16 is nice but 22 would be even better so if there is a way that we can do this, then we should and maybe just maybe we will get our request. Tracey
Well said, Diane.
Janey -- Warren jumped ship. It was time for him to go play in a different sandbox. Everyone needs a change of scenery every now and then. The opportunity presented itself and it was a good career move for him to go for it.
CI got its heart from Rene Balcer. Then Noth came -- some freaked out. But the show survived, still. Then, Rene left and the show got its new twist from Leight's leadership. Some took that as awful and left viewership, but the show endured. We're still here. The move to USA strengthened viewership. Yay.
Noth's leaving, Goldblum will bring his own groupies.
New folks at the helm? Sure. Will the show keep its color? Certainly. Why? Look at the writing staff. It hasn't changed. Look at the producers. They haven't changed, spare one.
Regarding Bonnie Hammer: stick around writers and entertainment insiders long enough n' find out she's no prize. ;) She singlehandedly managed to sink so many projects with potential at Sci-Fi that her face graces more than one dart board in "Writers' Rooms"...
Trcyk63: Show orders have nothing to do with Mr. Wolf or the showrunners, really. It has to do with the network that buys the series. They are the ones who place the order.
USA Network doesn't have the amount of dough NBC-broadcast does. It cut down production to 16 episodes in order to be able to keep paying the actors you love so dearly and keep them all. Otherwise, it would have been bye-bye CI.
When CI was bought by USA Network, cuts were going to have to be made. Actors accepted a salary freeze, which they weren't totally thrilled about. Production costs were slashed significantly, and you may have noticed quite a lot of the production quality HAS gone down from previous seasons. Set expenses have been slashed, budget is down significantly. That doesn't mean the writing and the acting has been affected! But the bottom line HAS been.
USA has ordered 16 episode seasons for CI. This is a way for them to make sure they can afford the series and keep the cast, keep paying them with a yearly increase in salary as their contracts require, keep paying the writers and the rest of the staff, and keep production going.
It's a matter of business, at this point.
There's no way CI could survive on Broadcast anymore. That said, it's a smash hit for cable, as far as numbers are concerned, and it will continue to do well there. Better to do so conservatively, than to try to spend money you don't have and then have to kill the show because you can't afford it. THAT would make the fans furious -- to see a show that's doing WELL, that is well loved, go the way of the dodo because it simply can't be afforded (because the stars are too expensive and the production costs are too high and keep increasing and the ad revenue is simply NOT going to keep up.)
Sadly, this is the reality of this business.
Fans can keep asking for longer seasons, and we do encourage them to -- but in the end, only numbers and willing advertising partners can change things. Unless things were to change dramatically, I wouldn't expect a change in CI's orders this coming season or next. I don't expect the actors want a change in their schedule, either. They all seem pretty pleased with the arrangements are they are, and that should be respected as well.
"its now a matter of business"; I agree there Curly. That is what it is.
You sound as if you are a member of its management structure with firsthand knowledge of the tactics, when you say "we" etc etc .
Thank you for taking the time Curly to clarify some points. Well said, indeed, Diane.
I just hope that all the changes to our beloved series isn't a portend to it's canceling after season 8. That would be a tragedy for ALL involved...........actors, production crew AND FANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Robert Nathan and Walon Green have been with the L&O Franchise since the early days. I hope they restore the old style, rather than keeping Leight's pseudo-CSI bastardization.
Very well said,Curly...But as one of Mr. DÓnofrio's faithful fans,I agree WITH ALL OF THE 16 PREVIOUS COMMENTS....!!!I have my worries:I wonder why CI left a broadcast for a cable....Why season 8 was cut down to 16 epis...Is Goldblum gonna be a replacement,for -god forbid!- when Mr. DÓnofrio would be getting too tired of playing Bobby...? But on the other hand, this is a business, and folks, let's face it: We MUST allow the people in this business to move on with their lives... As for now, ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS...And WATCH, WATCH, WATCH...!!! Get your friends to watch...Your neighbours...Your bosses...!!! When the ratings go high,the commercials go high...Thus the epis go high...!!! And last, but not least, I won't forgive myself, if I don't mention that the epis cut down could actually have an artistic benefit too: A very wise person -I forgot his/her screen name- once, on this very same blog, said, that they'd recently watched "There Will Be Blood" and that was the kind of role that Vincent deserved to play...It really broke my heart when I read this; because it was so true... I mean CI IS great; but we all know of great talents who started on the stage, made their way to the big screen, only to end up at the "TV Stóp"...(No offence,TV people; I respect you all dearly) Wouldn't it be great if such a sweet talent as Mr. DÓnofrio would be on TV for 16 epi series, and we could all enjoy watching him in 1-2 moveis every year too...?! (Oh ya,you bet,I'm such a selfish fan after all...!!!)
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