Law & Order: Criminal Intent
American police procedural television drama series (2001-2011)

Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the third series in Wolf's successful Law & Order franchise. Criminal Intent focuses on the investigations of the major case squad in a fictionalized version of the New York City Police Department set in New York City's One Police Plaza. In the style of the original Law & Order, episodes are often "ripped from the headlines" or loosely based on a real crime that received media attention.
The series aired on NBC for the first six seasons but was moved to the NBCUniversal-owned USA Network starting with the seventh season to share costs and due to declining ratings. During its NBC run, each episode aired on USA the week after its original NBC airing. The 10th and final season premiered on Sunday, May 1, 2011, at 9 p.m. EDT with original cast members Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe starring as Detectives Robert Goren and Alexandra Eames, respectively, and featuring Jay O. Sanders as Captain Joseph Hannah. The series concluded on June 26, 2011, after 10 seasons comprising 195 episodes.
Premise
Criminal Intent follows The NYPD Manhattan "Major Case Squad", a force of detectives who investigate high-profile cases (in most cases, murder, kidnappings or major robberies), such as those involving VIPs, local government officials and employees, the financial industry, and the art world.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” as american police procedural television drama series (2001-2011). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as american police procedural television drama series (2001-2011). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1055728. VIAF identifies the subject as 176491853. The Library of Congress control number is no2009094506. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2001 and 2011.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Law & Order: Criminal Intent primary sources, Law & Order: Criminal Intent archive and Order research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.