Law & Order season 24 has made several significant improvements to the long-running procedural formula that make it deserving of renewal for a 25th season. NBC has not yet decided whether to go ahead with Law & Order season 25; before the series' revival in 2021, it had been off the air for 10 years following a successful 20-season run. This break in production has led to a situation where the original Law & Order is only the second-longest procedural in TV history, as Law & Order: SVU has two more seasons under its belt.

Law & Order season 24 is the first full season of the procedural that does not star Sam Waterston, who began playing Jack McCoy in season 5 and left halfway through season 23. Thus, there has been widespread speculation about whether the series would continue to succeed without McCoy. Additionally, there were some aspects of the show that no longer worked as well as they did in the 1990s. However, Law & Order has course-corrected, and these improvements make it deserving of another look.

3 Law & Order Season 24 Has Shorter Cold Opens

The Opening Scenes No Longer Take Up A Lot Of Screen Time

When Law & Order originally debuted in the 1990s, it quickly became known for its short cold opens — the scenes before the opening credits, which are usually used to set up the case of the week. In the earliest seasons, someone would be engaging in a mundane activity, such as walking a dog, when they discovered a dead body, leading to the cops' arrival at the scene of that week's murder. Initially, the revival didn't follow this formula.

The cold opens were then far too long, showing five to ten minutes of the victim's life before fading into a scene of the cops examining their dead body. And these sequences gave away too much of the reason for the murder. They were also less interesting because they forced the audience to spend significant amounts of time with characters they were unfamiliar with. Fortunately, Law & Order season 24 has corrected this problem. While most episodes still begin with the victim's last moments, the cold opens are much shorter and more compelling.

2 Law & Order Season 24 Has More Unpredictable Case Outcomes

It's No Longer Guaranteed That Nolan Will Win His Case

Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) is one of the least popular ADAs in the franchise, and poor writing in the past is to blame. During the first few seasons of the revival, Price comes across as arrogant because he constantly insists on a case strategy that doesn't make sense to anyone but him. Additionally, the formula included Price getting his conviction every time, regardless of whether it was realistic for him to do so. This annoying shift left the audience wondering how Price would win each case instead of making the outcome questionable.

This return to the earlier formula makes the legal side of the series more exciting and allows for the type of thorny ethical conflicts in the courtroom that once made Law & Order so compelling.

This issue also caused the cases to lack suspense, and featuring so many boring storylines put Law & Order on the list of shows at risk of cancellation. Thankfully, the procedural has also changed this negative trend, and Price now loses cases as often as he wins. This return to the earlier formula makes the legal side of the series more exciting and allows for the type of thorny ethical conflicts in the courtroom that once made Law & Order so compelling.

1 Law & Order Season 24 Gets A New Police Leader

Maura Tierney's Jessica Brady Is More Involved With Cases Than Her Predecessor

The decision to replace Camryn Manheim's Kate Dixon in the Law & Order season 24 cast was controversial. Dixon had been the leader of the Homicide Unit for the revival's first three years, and she was written out without warning instead of being given a proper exit story. However, Jessica Brady (Maura Tierney) has proven herself to be a dynamic and interesting leader, demonstrating that taking this risk paid off. The procedural is more interesting with Brady in charge of the Homicide Unit and thus more deserving of renewal.

Brady also comes with baggage from her previous jobs within the NYPD, leading to ethical dilemmas and situations that threaten her job.

Brady is far more hands-on than Dixon was. Rather than staying in the squad room and directing investigations, she takes an active part in closing cases, often interrogating suspects herself. Brady also comes with baggage from her previous jobs within the NYPD, leading to ethical dilemmas and situations that threaten her job. While Brady isn't as relatable as Dixon was, Law & Order injected new life into the series by including her in the cast, and she deserves to return for another season.

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