TV producer Dick Wolf making history with 'Law & Order: SVU'

That familiar "cha-CHUNG" sound effect from the opening credits of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" this Thursday will signal the debut of a new season and something else — TV history.

The show's 21st season launch makes it the longest running prime-time live-action series in U.S. TV history and will finally fulfill a goal that eluded show creator Dick Wolf nine years ago with the original "Law & Order."

His hope now? Twenty-five seasons, of course. "You keep pushing the goal posts back because you don't get dealt these hands very often, obviously," Wolf told The Associated Press. "It's a continuous thrill to be able to do it."

FILE - This Oct. 13, 2014 file photo shows Mariska Hargitay, left, and Dick Wolf, at the PaleyFest New York "Law & Order: SVU" panel discussion in New York. The show’s 21st season premieres on Sept. 26. (Photo by Andy KropaInvisionAP, File)

The Mariska Hargitay-led "SVU" now pulls ahead of "Gunsmoke" and the original "Law & Order," which are tied with 20. ("Gunsmoke" still has more total number of episodes, while "The Simpsons," an animated prime-time series, exceeds them both.)

The new record is a feather in the cap for a towering figure in TV history, who last year alone produced five shows that attracted 50 million viewers. More than 150 billion minutes were viewed of "SVU" alone, shown on NBC, USA, ION and Hulu. When everyone's talking about streaming, he's still a network guy.

"The brilliance of Dick Wolf is that he still does appreciate and value the power of broadcast television," said George Cheeks, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment. "He sees the digital experience as an extension of the way to tell stories but launching them on a broadcast network is the anchor that allows other platforms and other ways for people to experience this content."

FILE - This May 13, 2019 file photo shows Mariska Hargitay, of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," at the NBC 20192020 Upfront in New York. The show’s 21st season premieres on Sept. 26. (Photo by Evan AgostiniInvisionAP, File)

Wolf was a New York ad man who left the business in 1976 and moved to Los Angeles to write scripts. He joined the writing team of the revered "Hill Street Blues" and then raised eyebrows when he jumped to the moody, unpredictable "Miami Vice."

"A lot of people said, 'How can you go from the best show on television to a cartoon?' I said, 'Well, it's a new era,'" he said. "The stories weren't ripped from the headline but ripped from the zeitgeist."

Since then, he's created a staggering amount of TV. Some didn't last — like "Mann & Machine," featuring a robot cop — but he struck gold with "Law & Order," which sparked spinoffs such as "SVU," ''Criminal Intent," ''Trial by Jury" and versions set in the United Kingdom and Los Angeles.

This image released by NBC shows Ice T as Sergeant Odafin "Fin" Tutuola, left, and Mariska Hargitay as Lieutenant Olivia Benson in a scene from "Law & Order: SVU." The show’s 21st season premieres on Sept. 26. (Photo by: Virginia SherwoodNBC via AP)

Wolf has also created the so-called TV three-stack — filling Wednesday nights on NBC with back-to-back-to-back hours of "Chicago" dramas, featuring police, doctors and firefighters. "It's a mini-binge," Wolf said. "I think it's a repeatable formula." (His output also includes the procedural "FBI" on CBS and its upcoming spinoff "Most Wanted.")

Wolf has triumphed with both actor churn and deep stability. "Law & Order" was a six-person ensemble that employed 29 actors during its 20 years, none of whom lasted the entire run. On the other hand, Hargitay has been on "SVU" since the start, making her Lt. Olivia Benson the longest-running prime-time drama character of all-time.

"I hate to sound cold-blooded, but I usually see recasting as not a disaster but an opportunity. Knock wood, most of the time, it's worked out that way," said Wolf. "If you get the right person in there, it works for years. If you get the wrong person, in there, they're usually gone after a season."

The achievement by "SVU" is even more remarkable since it survived its season 13 transition from a two-hander — with Hargitay partnered with actor Christopher Meloni — into a star vehicle for Hargitay.

"When Chris left the show, everybody thought it was the end of the show. Most people thought the year after would be the last year. Mariska more than stepped up," said Wolf. "She is the spark plug, the leader, the face of the show."

Some didn't think a TV show that deals with sex crimes would have enough material to last this long but rapper and actor Ice-T, who has been with the show for 20 years, said it taps into something that fans need.

"Sexual abuse is out of control and it always has been," he said. "A lot of people have actually been through this. I think it's part show, part therapy. Maybe they didn't get justice in their life, but they look for justice on the TV show."

Paul Telegdy, the other co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, said his older daughters watch "SVU" and are stunned to see in reruns topics of sexual misconduct addressed long before the #MeToo movement took off.

"They watch it and they cannot believe how of-its-time even the older episodes were, how fresh and relevant it is," he said. "It's had an incredible social role."

Being a guest star on a Wolf show is a rite of passage and everyone from James Earl Jones to Julia Roberts has been featured. Liam Neeson made his first appearance on American TV in "Miami Vice" and the new "SVU" season kicks off with a guest spot from Ian McShane, an actor Wolf has long admired.

"People who don't do television do this because they associate it with a certain quality level and a certain interest level," Wolf said, crediting show runners Neal Baer and Warren Leight.

Among Wolf's keys to TV longevity are a tendency toward self-contained episodes, which helps syndication, and a deliberate attempt not to grind his shows in too much reality.

His lawyers, cops and firefighters dress in outfits that are generic, and the writing tends to avoid buzzy cultural references, which can date them. On a Wolf show, it's hard to tell what year it is, much less the decade.

Wolf expected to break the prime-time record back in 2010 when the mothership "Law & Order" tried to reach 21 seasons — but it wasn't meant to be. NBC seemed to signal it was renewing the show but then canceled it.

"It was heartbreaking to lose it on the verge of what's happened but it's also very satisfying to have one and two of the longest-running dramas in history," said Wolf. "It's a credit to a great cast and, as always, the writing."

Wolf has seen the TV landscape go through tumult with the rise of streaming services and while he's a loyal network guy, he also sees what's coming.

"In 20 years, broadcast will be a distant memory for most people. It's all going to be streaming. You can't hold back technology. Trying to is a guaranteed prescription for failure."

Wolf has embraced the trend, too. He plans to put an upcoming show on a streaming platform because its subject and language don't fit on broadcast. And, yes, it's a "Law & Order" spin-off — "Law & Order: Hate Crimes."

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Koklesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)