Wolf plans in wake of cancellation

“Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf said he was jolted by NBC’s cancellation of the fourth installment of his crime drama, but looks forward to producing another series for the network.

Wolf suffered an unusual setback when NBC dumped “Law & Order: Trial by Jury,” which debuted last spring. “I was incredibly upset, disappointed, dismayed, any other adjectives that you could care to add,” Wolf said.

“Trial by Jury” lost star Jerry Orbach to cancer shortly after production started. The sets will remain standing for at least another year in New York as Wolf plans a new drama series about assistant district attorneys.

“It will have a different focus and be much more a character-driven show with closed-ended episodes,” he said.

Wolf also is planning a French version of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” which, if successful, could trigger a wave of overseas adaptations of his series, he said. The series on broadcaster TF1 is likely to debut in 2006, Daily Variety reported Monday.

Wolf and the network value the “Law & Order” brand as their “most important piece of business” and the centerpiece of a close relationship, Wolf told the Television Critics Assn. on Monday. The “Law & Order” franchise -- which includes the original series, “Special Victims Unit” and “Criminal Intent” -- will reach 600 combined episodes this fall.

“This is more like a long-term marriage with no possibility of divorce,” Wolf said.