Christopher Meloni's Law & Order spinoff Organized Crime got canceled after five seasons and numerous showrunner changes - but why did the actor originally leave the SVU version of the hit franchise? Law & Order, which premiered in 1990, launched Dick Wolf's legal TV universe. From there, NBC found success by expanding with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which premiered in 1999 with Meloni starring alongside Mariska Hargitay. (There were other, more short-lived spinoffs, including Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Law & Order: LA and Law & Order True Crime.