The TV Zone

Yup, "Law & Order" is good to go too - strike or no strike.

NBC said the veteran (very veteran) and very nearly extinct classic will return next month on Wednesdays, Jan. 9, at 10, with a lead-in from "L&O: Criminal Intent" at 9. So...we've got a two-hour "L&O" block. Noted.

We've got the usual cast back, with of course, necessary changes: Linus Roache joins as ADA cus' Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) is bumped up to DA cus' Arthur Branch is running for president (and the Iowa caucus is just around the corner.) Interesting behind-the-scenes addition: Rene Balcer is show-runner, or - should I say, was, considering the strike and all. Balcer's one of the stand-out "L&O" producers of yore, and his "L&O" won a best-drama Emmy way back in the mid (or was it early?) '90s.

Oh, yes, and how could I forget? Jeremy Sisto will join the show too - as Dect. Cyrus Lupo to Jesse L. Martin's Edward Green. And...on "CI," Mike Logan (Chris Noth) is back.

No word on how many episodes were in the can pre-strike, but "L&O" was a limited order to begin with, so my guess is that it's just fine.