Dick Wolf has finally stepped up and done something about “Organized Crime.”
Showrunner Ilene Chaiken is out. Barry O’Brien, who joined the show in November, will take over. His recent credits include running “Castle” for a season and writing for “CSI Miami.”
Chris Meloni’s “Organized Crime” chapter of “Law & Order” is sinking in the ratings because it’s not a show. It’s an idea that has gone wrong. Meloni looks awful and week after week Elliot Stabler is involved in a convoluted mess concerning Dylan McDermott’s Richard Wheatley. The whole “Law & Order” formula has been thrown out in service of a mess.
It can only be hoped that O’Brien has been developing a new blueprint with fleshed out characters and idea who Elliot is supposed to and what the heck he’s doing. The show’s weaknesses were made even more apparent Thursday night when real “Law & Order” returned from oblivion and had 2 million more viewers than “OG.”
I thought when they announced “OG” that Stabler and a crew would be chasing all kinds of mobsters of different ilks. Instead, it was a show about a vendetta. And who are the people Stabler works with? What is their relationship to each other? It’s time to organize “Organized Crime.”
Deadline.com first reported Chaiken’s exit.
