Pitted against edgy procedurals, trendy reality shows or ensemble dramas, NBC's Law & Order for nearly 20 years has persevered as one of televisions's most recognisable and durable brands.
And if it lasts a few more seasons, the hybrid cop-and-lawyer series will eclipse Gunsmoke as television's longest-running drama.
But even as the franchise remains a popular draw for viewers - the so-called mother ship, along with its two satellite series, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, air as many as 90 times a week between first-run episodes and repeats in syndication - Law & Order is facing a new trial across the Atlantic, where it is being judged by a new jury: the British television audience.
Swimming against the flood of recent British imports to American television - The Office, Life on Mars, American Idol and Dancing With the Stars,to name a few - Law & Order becomes the first American drama to be adapted for British television.
The remade version of the stalwart crime and punishment series premiered late last month.
Working from scripts already produced for the American show, the British one, with its local cast and crew, has been reworded and reworked to reflect the sensibilities of its new home.
With its thick British accents and courtroom wigs, you might call it My Fair Law & Order.
"I wanted to demonstrate that no matter what the system of justice is, Law & Order works," the franchise's creator, Dick Wolf, said.
"The biggest difference is that there's not as much plea bargaining there as there is here. And the bottom line is our own legal system is based on English common law."
It's not the first time Law & Order has been refashioned for a European audience.
Two years ago, Wolf expanded the brand to France for Criminal Intent and to Russia for Criminal Intent and Special Victims Unit.
And the Anglicised version of Law & Order, co-produced by London-based Kudos Film and Television, Wolf Films and NBC Universal, was green-lighted even though its American inspiration has been broadcast for years on British TV.
"I love it because it feels the same," Wolf said.
"But yet it's totally different."
Producers were pleased with the tune-in for the first broadcasts.
Law & Order: U.K. attracted more than 6.3 million viewers to ITV1 and won its 9pm. Monday slot, beating out the popular BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? in which celebrities trace their ancestry.
The second week declined to 5.8 million viewers.
Initial critical reaction in Britain to the series was generally positive.
Matt Baylis of the Daily Express said: "Even though it's not exactly new - it feels like a breath of fresh air."
And the "We Love Telly" column of the Daily Mirror wrote, "It's all highly professional and heroic".
But the Guardian's Sarah Dempster was less enthusiastic: "There is the original series' clipped dialogue and caffeinated camera work, but trying to affix the same razzle-dazzle principles to the British crime drama is like trying to fit a rain cloud into a tuxedo. Fiddly. And wrong".
TV historian Tim Brooks said the flashy sensibilities of American shows usually did not lend themselves to adaptation for British audiences.
"American shows are much more violent, louder, with more special effects," Brooks said. "They have flashy sidekicks. They can run there in Britain as curiosities, but their dramas are much more methodical, more about the intricacies. But maybe Law & Order: U.K. is a portent of things to come."
