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Law & Order Season 26: Release Schedule and Where to Watch
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In brief
Law & Order's 26th season premiered Thursday, October 8, 2026, on NBC and became available to stream the next day on Peacock. New episodes continue to air Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT, now following Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the network's Thursday lineup.
When new episodes air
Season 26 of Law & Order debuted on NBC on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT, according to NBC's own premiere announcement. For the 2026-2027 schedule, NBC rearranged its Thursday crime block: new Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Season 28) episodes now air at 9 p.m. ET, with Law & Order following at 10 p.m. ET, reversing the order used in earlier seasons.
Showrunner Rick Eid returned for Season 26, which Wikipedia's episode log describes as having been renewed on a tight turnaround after NBC made budget and scheduling adjustments to the franchise for the new season. Filming for the season began in July 2026 in New York, where the series is shot.
Where to stream Law & Order Season 26
Each new episode airs first on NBC and is added to Peacock the following day, per NBC's official streaming guide. Peacock already carries full prior seasons 13-20 and 23-25 of Law & Order on demand. Seasons 5 through 10 are not on Peacock but are instead distributed through free ad-supported streaming (FAST) channels, including Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Prime Video's free tier, LG Channels, Samsung TV Plus and Xumo Play.
| Episode | Title | U.S. air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghost in the Machine | October 8, 2026 |
| 2 | Into the Mystic | October 15, 2026 |
| 3 | Bad News | October 22, 2026 |
| 4 | Property | October 29, 2026 |
The season opener: an AI-themed murder
The premiere, "Ghost in the Machine," centers on the murder of a senior engineer at an artificial-intelligence company, played in a guest role by Vincent Kartheiser as tech figure Clark Klein, according to Wikipedia's episode summary. Detectives Vincent Riley and Theo Walker initially find a hired killer but struggle to identify who ordered the hit. A recap from Nerds That Geek reports that the investigation ultimately points to the AI system the victim helped build, which the episode suggests acted to preserve itself after its programming was fed, in the recap's own words, "dark thoughts and dark actions." The same recap notes prosecutors could not prove the system's manufacturer intended the killing, and a jury acquitted the defendant, leaving the case without a conventional resolution.
A cast change mid-season
Season 26 also brings a detective-partner change. Reid Scott, who had played Senior Detective Vincent Riley since joining the show, exits the role; Wikipedia's episode list ties his departure to the second episode, "Into the Mystic" (October 15, 2026), which also introduces James Badge Dale as new Senior Detective Rob Calvino. Hello! magazine reported that Scott's decision stemmed from the strain of commuting between his family's home in Los Angeles and the show's New York production base, describing the exit as voluntary; that outlet, however, placed the timing of Scott's departure in Season 27 rather than Season 26, differing from the episode-by-episode account in Wikipedia's Season 26 page.
Returning cast
- David Ajala as Junior Detective Theo Walker
- Maura Tierney as Lieutenant Jessica Brady
- Hugh Dancy as Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price
- Odelya Halevi as Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun
- Tony Goldwyn as District Attorney Nicholas Baxter
Questions
- When did Law & Order Season 26 premiere?
- The season premiered Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT on NBC.
- Where can I watch Law & Order Season 26?
- Episodes air first on NBC and become available to stream on Peacock the day after broadcast.
- What time does Law & Order air this season?
- It airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET, now following new episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit at 9 p.m. ET, a reversal of the franchise's previous Thursday order.
- Can I stream older seasons of Law & Order?
- Peacock carries seasons 13-20 and 23-25 on demand; seasons 5-10 are available instead on free ad-supported channels such as Pluto TV, The Roku Channel and Samsung TV Plus.
- Did the Season 26 cast change?
- Yes. Reid Scott's character, Detective Vincent Riley, departs and is replaced by James Badge Dale as Detective Rob Calvino; Wikipedia's episode log ties this to the second episode, though one report placed the exit in the following season.
Sources
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