'Law & amp; Order' plans 4th series

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Dick Wolf's sprawling "Law & amp; Order" franchise will launch its fourth series in the fall -- "L & amp;O: Trial by Jury." Set entirely in the courthouse, "Jury" features "L & amp;O"'s Jerry Orbach as veteran gumshoe Lennie Briscoe.
NBC made the announcement this week, on the same day it announced its merger with Vivendi Universal Entertainment, which owns Universal Television, which produces "L & amp;O."
Coincidental timing? We think not.
In addition, newly named NBC Universal Television gave two-year pickups, through the 2005-06 season, to Wolf's "L & amp;O" and to "L & amp;O: Special Victims Unit" and "L & amp;O: Criminal Intent."
And if that's not enough to make the perpetually grouchy Wolfman smile, NBC extended his overall production deal through June 2008. Not that Wolf, 57, has any reason to frown. All the current "L & amp;Os" are hits, easily dominating their respective time slots.
"L & amp;O," starring Sam Waterston, Jesse L. Martin, S. Epatha Merkerson and Elisabeth Rohm, will become the second-longest-running drama in TV history next season. At 15 seasons, it will lag only behind "Gunsmoke," which ran from 1955 to '75 on CBS.
Orbach's Detective Lennie Briscoe is leaving "L & amp;O" after 12 seasons. Nobody's talking, but we're guessing he retires from the force and becomes a full-time investigator, on "Jury."