How Every International ‘Law & Order’ Adaptation Compares Around the World
For more than three decades, Law & Order has been one of television’s most recognizable franchises, but New York City isn’t the only place where viewers have heard the familiar “dun-dun.”
The format has traveled around the world, with local versions adapting Dick Wolf‘s crime procedural to fit vastly different cultures, including various legal systems and policing methods. While every adaptation retains the franchise’s core formula (more or less) of investigating and prosecuting crime, each puts its own national spin on everything from courtroom procedures and police ranks to the types of cases being told.
Here are the different international versions of Law & Order and how they are different from Wolf’s flagship series.
Paris enquêtes criminelles (Paris Criminal Investigations; Law & Order: Paris)
France; 2007–2008
Cast: Vincent Pérez, Sandrine Rigaux (Season 1), Audrey Looten (Season 2 – 3), Laure Killing, Jacques Pater
France has never produced a localized remake of the original Law & Order. Instead, its only adaptation is Paris enquêtes criminelles, based entirely on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. The series reworks cases to fit French criminal procedure and the country’s investigative magistrate system rather than the American courtroom model. It also omits the iconic opening narration (“In the criminal justice system…”) and the franchise’s signature transition title cards while retaining Criminal Intent’s core dynamic of a brilliant, intuitive detective paired with a more methodical partner.
Zakon i poryadok (Закон и порядок; Law & Order Russia)
Russia; 2007–2011
Cast: Ivan Oganesyan, Alisa Bogart, Aleksandr Naumov, Valeriy Troshin, Dmitriy Brusnikin, and Kseniya Entelis
The Russian version of Law & Order follows the franchise’s signature two-part format, splitting each episode between a police investigation and the subsequent prosecution, while adapting the stories to fit Moscow’s legal and cultural landscape.
Using translated, authorized scripts from the U.S. versions of Law & Order, Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the series required substantial changes to reflect Russia’s very different justice system. Courtroom scenes were heavily rewritten to accurately portray the role of the prokuror (prosecutor), local judicial procedures, and a legal system that has historically relied far less on juries than its American counterpart.
The format was so successful that a Criminal Intent version was launched (Zakon i poryadok: Prestupnyy umysel), looking into the psychological motives of violent criminals.
Law & Order: U.K.
United Kingdom; 2009 – 2014
Cast: Bradley Walsh, Ben Daniels (Seasons 1 – 4), Bill Paterson (Seasons 1 – 4), Freema Agyeman (Seasons 1 – 6), Harriet Walter (Seasons 1 – 6), Jamie Bamber (Seasons 1 – 5)
Set in London, Law & Order: U.K. follows the franchise’s familiar two-part format: the first half centers on Metropolitan Police detectives investigating a crime, while the second follows Crown Prosecutors as they build and argue the court case. Replacing district attorneys and grand juries with the non-political Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the series embraces a more methodical, dialogue-driven approach rather than the fast-paced, high-octane style of its American counterparts.
Code of Law
Singapore; 2012–2020
Cast: Keagan Kang, Sunny Pang, Sharon Ismail, Fauzie Laily, Desmond Tan, and Oon Shu An.
Running for five seasons, Code of Law is an unofficial adaptation of the L&O franchise that follows police investigators solving brutal local crimes and the lawyers handling the ensuing trials. Unlike U.S. legal dramas built around jury trials, Singapore abolished juries in criminal cases, with judges serving as the sole triers of fact. The series also reflects the country’s tightly regulated legal system and severe statutory penalties, including caning for certain serious offenses, offering a sharp contrast to the constitutional protections and courtroom procedures typically seen in American legal dramas.
Much like the U.S. version, Code of Law spawned its own local universe, including a prequel series (The Pupil), two spin-off series (Forensik and Derek), and a television movie.
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
Canada; 2024 – present
Cast: Luke Kirby, Kathleen Munroe, K. C. Collins, Karen Robinson, Aden Young (Seasons 1 – 3)
There is no “regular” or flagship Law & Order series in Canada. Instead, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent unfolds against real Toronto landmarks such as the CN Tower and City Hall rather than using the city as a stand-in for an American location. The series also embraces Canada’s legal system: its elite investigative team is the Specialized Criminal Investigations Unit, prosecutors are Crown Attorneys instead of District Attorneys, and courtroom lawyers wear traditional black gowns. Many storylines are inspired by major Canadian headlines and the country’s unique cultural and political landscape.
Producer Tassie Cameron told TV Insider that “Criminal Intent‘s format is different from the other series in that it goes into the bad guy’s point of view throughout the course of the episode. And so it is more of a psychological profile of the people behind the crime and more cat and mouse between the detectives and the criminals.”
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Toronto and the UK are the only ones I’ve seen. They’re good. I’ll have to check out the others (if I can find).
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