Yet another 'L&O'? Sort of

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The fourth "Law & Order" series didn't survive, but a fifth is probably headed our way.

Well, sort of.

First of all, "Law & Order" executive producer Dick Wolf made it clear he's "incredibly upset, disappointed, dismayed" and so on and so on about the cancellation of "Trial by Jury." "But . . . this is more than just a standard business relationship."

Not only does NBC air all the "Law & Order" series, but since it acquired Universal, it also produces and owns the shows.

"This is much more like a long-term marriage with no possibility of divorce. We're stuck together, and, as in every long-term marriage, there may be hills and valleys," Wolf said. "But to put it in some perspective, the 'TBJ' sets, which are the biggest sets that I've ever been associated with, are standing for at least another year in New York — that Wolf Films and NBC have decided to keep them up at tremendous cost."

And that would be because it looks like sometime during the upcoming year he'll premiere a new legal drama on NBC — a legal drama about New York City assistant district attorneys that will focus more on their lives than Wolf's procedural dramas. Apparently, it won't bear the "Law & Order" name, but it will use those "TBJ" sets Wolf and NBC are paying to keep standing.

"I assure you that neither of us make seven-figure bets that we don't plan on collecting on. . . . I fully expect to be in production within the time period that the sets will be up," Wolf said.

The cast will be younger — Wolf said the average age of real ADAs in New York is 28.

"It will have a different focus and be much more a character-driven show with closed-ended episodes than a straight procedural," he said.

"It's going to be much more of an ensemble than the other shows. There is going to be more time spent on, not necessarily their personal lives, but how they're driven, what made them who they're becoming, because it is a very transitional age. It's dealing with people that are earning while they're learning, and that, to me, is rife with dramatic possibilities."

THERE WILL BE a fifth "Law & Order" series — although you could actually title it "Law & Order 3B."

Or, perhaps, subtitle it.

Wolf has signed a deal with French broadcaster TF1, which will be taking "Criminal Intent" episodes, adapting them and reshooting them with French actors.