There's a new 'Order'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — "Law & Order" is undergoing some extensive remodeling. And, at the same time, it's not going to change.

Which, as non sequitur as that might sound, really does make sense.

The "mother ship" of the "Law & Order" brand came close to being canceled when NBC was preparing its 2007-08 schedule in May. And its 18th-season premiere isn't scheduled to air until January, when it moves to Sunday nights (after the NFL season ends).

When it does return, Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) will be the new district attorney, replacing Arthur Branch (Fred Dalton Thompson, who left, presumably, to run for president).

Linus Roach will play new prosecutor Michael Cutter, replacing Waterston. Jeremy Sisto will play police detective Cyrus Lupo, replacing Milena Govich.

"So the show has a very different look than it had two years ago," said creator/executive producer Dick Wolf. "I think that Sam (Waterston) is going to be a terrific D.A., but if you look at a cast that ... two seasons ago had Sam as the chief prosecutor, Fred (Dalton Thompson) as the D.A. and Dennis Farina as essentially the lead cop, and you look at the way it's going to look this year, that is a very, very large shift and also a very deliberate shift to hopefully reignite or further penetrate a younger demo.

"The show has been skewing older, and we would love it to skew a little bit younger."

That's important because, of course, it's not just how many people are watching a show that makes it successful, it's how old those people are. Shows like "Murder, She Wrote" and "Touched by an Angel" continued to draw a lot of viewers every week right up until they ended, but so many of those viewers were older (above the 18-49 and even 25-54 demographic) that advertisers paid considerably less to buy commercial time on those shows.

And it's all about commercial time.

For Wolf, there's a little more to it. The upcoming season of "Law & Order" will be the show's 18th, and he's made it clear for years that he's looking to surpass "Gunsmoke," which is, at 20 seasons, the longest-running drama in TV history.

"I sure hope so," Wolf said. "I just want it on the air continuously for 21 years or more."

EVEN THOUGH Jack McCoy will be the new district attorney, he'll still be the old Jack McCoy. Sort of.