Can ‘Law & Order’ outlast ‘Gunsmoke’?

Wolf is the Great Oz behind the business model. The New York-born guru started as an East Coast ad man, writing commercials for brands that included Crest toothpaste, before heading to Hollywood to pursue a career in entertainment. He eventually became one of the industry's biggest players, producing feature films and writing for "Hill Street Blues"; in 1988, he formed his own production company, Wolf Films, and debuted "Law & Order" two years later.

Wolf, who milked a TV empire from the show, said the reason it has remained on the air so long rests with its self-contained, plot-driven formula.

"You don't have to see it for a week, a month, a year," said Wolf, who's based in Los Angeles. "You come back into a totally complete hour of television with a beginning, middle and an end, and hopefully, a satisfying conclusion. And you can go on your merry way and, if you catch it two years later, it can be a completely different cast. But it still works as exactly the same."

Despite cast turnover, "Law & Order" has retained its tradition of using real-life headlines and twisting them into dramatic plot lines. Wednesday's show delivers a thriller of messy elegance as the detectives and attorneys clash over McCoy's bold move to classify a bloody street fight as a terrorist attack; in this case, the viewer is treated as a jury member, forced to decide between two convincing arguments.

Economical murder?
The first victim: A stockbroker beaten to death in broad daylight. "In this economy, this is the kind of thing that might catch on," quips Bernard upon inspecting the body.

The episode could easily be one of the show's greatest hits, with strong writing that continues the creative momentum of last season's finale in which McCoy wrestled with a prostitution scandal involving a New York governor (hints of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer).

The final word on cast changes rests with Wolf, who reserves the power to hire — and veto — the actors and actresses working full-time in the 27th Precinct and the DA's office.

But he couldn't control the nine-year itch of Martin, who decided to depart his popular role in the middle of last season because he "was just feeling really burned out," Wolf said.

Enter Anderson. The actor makes No. 11 in a long succession of police detectives: George Dzundza, Chris Noth, Paul Sorvino, Jerry Orbach, Benjamin Bratt, Martin, Dennis Farina, Michael Imperioli, Milena Govich and Sisto. Anderson grabbed Wolf's attention playing tough cops in the Oscar-winning film "The Departed," the former Fox series "K-Ville" and in a guest spot on "SVU."

Once Martin backed out, Wolf made a play last fall for Anderson, wooing the actor over lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel amid the Hollywood writers strike. Anderson's police drama "K-Ville," set in New Orleans, shuttered production during the strike, and lasted half a season before Fox pulled it from the schedule.

By the end of the meeting, Anderson recalled Wolf dispensing advice on moving his family from Los Angeles to New York — without so much as a "you're hired."

"And I was like, `Did he? Was this like a Jedi mind trick? Did he just tell me I got the job without telling me the job is mine?' I think he did,"' says Anderson, who has also appeared in "Transformers," "Hustle & Flow" and TV's "The Shield."

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