Dick Wolf(I)

Producer Dick Wolf is old friends with producer Tom Fontana. They often use actors from each other's television series, usually resulting in the actors working on two shows at once. Examples are J.K. Simmons on Law & Order - I due volti della giustizia (1990) and Oz (1997), Christopher Meloni and Dean Winters on Oz (1997) and Law & Order: Unità Speciale (1999) and Kathryn Erbe on Oz (1997) and Criminal Intent (2001). Richard Belzer famously leaped from producers' show to show as Detective John Munch.

(talking to critics about his 'Law and Order' franchise) "You guys don't report the financial aspects of how successful the brand is. The only reason the brand is that successful -- it's show business. No show, no business. You've got an actress sitting up here (Mariska Hargitay) who has received two consecutive Emmy nominations for a show ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") that everybody would describe as mature. I didn't see that much fuss made about it. You read about who's hot, who's not. These shows are never mentioned. We're not looking to be the hot show. That's not what the 'Law & Order' brand is about. It's about longevity and about repeatability and about staying on the air and being a profit center for NBC for years to come."