We’ve got some bad news for the Law & Order fans out there. NBC is about to pull the shows off the air for a few weeks, with the January 29 episodes serving as the last week fans can enjoy a new episode until after the Winter Olympics.
February is going to be a major month for NBC as a network. Not only will they be the broadcast home of the 2026 Super Bowl and the pre-game events that precede it, but the network is also gearing up for the 2026 Winter Olympics. It’s a major month for the network’s sports coverage, with the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics expected to pull in massive ratings for the network.
This is great news for sports fans, but it’s not great news for fans of NBC’s broadcast series including the Law & Order franchise.
Given the One Chicago shows will remain on the air through the first week of February before being pulled from the schedule to make room for Olympics coverage in primetime, we expected that the same would be true for the Law & Order shows. Sadly, that is not the case as both Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU are going on break after their January 29 episodes and there is a key reason for this.
As the home of the Super Bowl, NBC will also be the broadcast home for the annual NFL Honors Awards, which celebrates the top-performing players and coaches from the season. The annual NFL Honors typically air days before the Super Bowl and that will be the case again this year with the 2026 NFL Honors airing on Thursday, Feb. 5 ahead of Super Bowl weekend.
To make room for the NFL Honors, NBC is pulling Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU from the schedule on Thursday night, along with fellow Thursday night drama The Hunting Party. All three scripted dramas will be off next week to make room for the NFL Honors which will follow a special 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic preview special.
NBC’s Olympics coverage will begin officially on February 6 with coverage of the Opening Ceremonies and will continue for the majority of the month of February. This will keep scripted favorites such as the Law & Order and One Chicago shows off the air with NBC’s primetime block being made up exclusively of Olympics coverage.
The good news is that once the Olympics wrap, Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU will return to NBC’s lineup and we should see far fewer interruptions in the season. Yes, there might be a week here and there when NBC will air a rerun or special coverage, but we’re not expecting any additional extended breaks, which is going to be a welcome change to take us through the rest of the season!