On Friday, NBC announced that it is canceling its original TV drama Law & Order after 20 seasons. While its run-time is already impressive, creator Dick Wolf was reportedly in negotiations right up until the announcement in an effort to secure a 21st season.
Law & Order benefited from their ability to draw episode inspiration from headline news, and their lack of character development. Each episode could be viewed independently - no need to watch it in the context of the season, or past seasons. It lacked the story arch that Lost or Heroes has.
While 20 seasons certainly means the show enjoyed ample viewership, I'd argue that it was a different brand of TV watching. Once the novelty of the show wore off (season 5?), it's hard to imagine viewers making an event out of watching new episodes, as many people did with 24 and now with Glee. And once NBC had a healthy collection of episodes, Law & Order reruns became synonymous with daytime filler TV. This is in stark contrast with the limited access we have to back episodes of newer shows via Hulu and DVDs.
Speaking of which, I'd like to meet the person who has the full 20 season Law & Order DVD collection. At a certain point, increasing the number of seasons makes the box set less ownable. In addition to possessing an entire series for future enjoyment, the ability to "catch up" on a sitcom is what makes the DVDs so marketable. Those marathon get-up-to-speed viewings start to lose their appeal when the task at hand is 20 seasons long.
So aside from bragging rights, is there any reason for a sitcom to air for that many seasons? Is there something to be said for stopping while you're ahead, thereby assuring posthumous demand for the show?
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