LOLA: Casting News

I am a huge Law & Order fan, especially the original. I stuck with it from Season 1 to its unexpected, and to me, bitter end. NBC pulled the plug after 20 season with the original just one season shy of beating Gunsmoke for the longest running drama on network TV. It had rough patches (Dennis Farina as Det. Joe Fontana), but overall, it was a solid show with its “ripped from the headlines” stories.

Shortly after the demise of L&O, NBC announced the latest in the Law and Order franchise, Law and Order: Los Angeles, affectionately called LOLA. I’ve been skeptical from the start. New York was such a part of Law & Order. It was more than just a setting, it was an integral part of the show and I just couldn’t see how it could be replaced, especially by Los Angeles, which just doesn’t seem to have the same ‘character’ as New York City.

Out of deference to the original, I was reluctant to watch LOLA, but two bits of casting news have made LOLA a lot more interesting. First of all, Skeet Ulrich, of Scream (the first one) and Jericho fame has been cast as one of the detectives. Most recently Alfred Molina (Doc Oct from Spiderman 2, and Raiders of the Lost Ark) has joined the cast as the Los Angeles Deputy DA, a role Sam Waterson had for years in the original and held by Linus Roche for the last few seasons.

Rumor has it that Holly Marie Combs (of Charmed and Pretty Little Liars) might be joining the cast as well.

Molina and Ulrich make for some compelling choices. As much as I object to LOLA on principle, I might have to watch and epi or two before I issue my final verdict.