Television stimulus needed

NBC announced on Friday that Law and Order would be canceled after 20 years.* As the New York Times ably put it, “the wheels of TV justice will soon grind to a halt.” City officials estimate that the show pumped about $1 billion into the New York City economy. And won’t someone think of the actors.

Several casting directors for theater, film and television estimated on Friday that the majority of actors’ resumes that came across their desks included “Law & Order” credits. Some actors who worked chiefly in New York theater, drawing weekly salaries of $500 to $1,500 for their stage roles, supplemented those paychecks by playing judges, jurors and police officers on “Law & Order.” Pay for those jobs ranged from a few hundred dollars to $1,000 or so a week for only a few moments of screen time.

*They also announced that Heroes would be canceled, but I didn’t know that was still on.

• Heroes
• Law and Order
• TV