Weeks after the fall finales of Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU on NBC, the first season of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent will end on December 3 in the 2025 TV schedule. Starring Wolf Entertainment vet Kathleen Munroe and Rectify‘s Aden Young, the show has a familiar format for fans of the franchise, although the Canada setting makes it stand alone compared to the many connections between the NBC shows. The good news is that the future of Law & Order Toronto is already guaranteed for the time being, and my next hope is for a change to how the show is released.
Law & Order Toronto Season 2
Before the Season 1 finale, The CW had already confirmed an order for two seasons of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, slating the next batch of episodes to premiere as part of the 2026 TV schedule. The news didn’t come as a huge surprise when it was announced; the Law & Order franchise has a lot of name recognition among U.S. audiences thanks to the very long-running originals on NBC, with Law & Order currently in the milestone Season 25 and SVU in Season 27.
Plus, the drama already aired two full seasons on Citytv in Canada before the first season even premiered for American viewers, and Citytv ordered Season 3 all the way back in 2024. The guarantee of more episodes beyond the Season 1 finale is just a matter of The CW acquiring the broadcast rights for the first two seasons; the bigger question will eventually be about Season 3.
The CW has not yet confirmed a premiere date for when Law & Order Toronto will return in the new year, which means that my #1 hope for Season 2 hasn’t been dashed just yet.
I Hope The CW Changes Law & Order Toronto’s Time Slot
The Canadian drama has been airing on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET this fall, which is a competitive time slot on network television. It’s been up again Survivor on CBS, The Golden Bachelor on ABC, and – most importantly for me, at least – Chicago Med on NBC. While Law & Order Toronto isn’t tied to the rest of the shows in the Dick Wolf TV universe as closely as some of the others, airing in the 8 p.m. ET time slot on Wednesdays has meant that fans of the franchise haven’t been able to watch both the new show and One Chicago’s medical drama live.
Additionally, the Toronto-set series isn’t available streaming with a Netflix subscription or HBO Max subscription like some other CW shows, and streaming via the CW’s site and/or app has never been as easy as more mainstream platforms. Anybody who prioritizes Chicago Med (or any other show in the 8 p.m. ET time slot) won’t be able to conveniently catch up on Law & Order Toronto. There’s a potential untapped audience for the show if only it could air on another night.
If a change from Wednesday nights isn’t in the cards, then how about a change in when the next season airs? Both Law & Order and SVU break for summer hiatuses of several months between seasons, as well as Chicago Med and Survivor. I’d love if Law & Order Toronto could become a summer series that would be an option for fans who might not have the time to tune in during the fall.
For now, we can only wait and see what The CW has planned for Season 2. It’s entirely possible that my hopes will eventually be dashed and Law & Order Toronto will be back in primetime on Wednesdays next fall in the same time slot. In the meantime, perhaps there’s hope that the show will become available streaming somewhere more convenient than The CW app over hiatus.
