The original Law & Order TV series first premiered in the U.S. on NBC on September 13, 1990. As of early 2026, that means it has been on (or officially in production and airing in revived form) for about 35 years, not counting its brief cancellation gap between 2010 and 2022.

Quick Scoop

  • Premiere date (U.S., NBC): September 13, 1990.
  • First episode: “Prescription for Death” (though a different pilot, “Everybody’s Favorite Bagman,” was filmed earlier and later aired in season 1).
  • Original run: 1990–2010, then canceled after 20 seasons.
  • Revival: Series revived with new seasons in the 2020s, keeping the brand active into 2026.
  • Total time since debut: roughly 35 years on and off, making it one of the longest‑running U.S. scripted drama franchises.

A bit of context

Because Law & Order had that 2010–2022 gap, people sometimes ask whether you count “continuous years” or “lifetime since premiere.” If you go by “how long since it first hit TV,” you’re looking at about three and a half decades. If you count only years it actively aired new episodes, you’d subtract the hiatus years, but it still ranks as a marathon veteran among network dramas.

In forum discussions, fans often joke that you can walk into any hotel room, turn on the TV, and land on some Law & Order series in a couple of clicks, which says a lot about how deeply it has stayed in the TV bloodstream.

TL;DR: Law & Order has been on TV (counting its revival era) for about 35 years since its 1990 premiere, with a long original run, a cancellation, and then a modern comeback.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.