Fun, Fearless Female: Elisabeth Rohm Cosmopolitan, April 2004 Several brief facts regarding actress Elisabeth Rohm are presented. Rohm is in her third season playing assistant district attorney Serena Southerlyn on NBC's Law & Order. I believe you're supposed to do something every day that you're afraid of. I live by that motto, which is why some people see me as ballsy." ROCK 'N' ROLL FANTASY When Elisabeth's not acting, she's in a recording studio. "My sound is somewhere between Dido and Tori Amos. I'd love to make an album." BABE BIO Current gig: In her third season playing assistant district attorney Serena Southerlyn on NBC's Law & Order 31 Hometown: New York City Romantic status: Single HER TRIP TO FAME After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, she got a job as a New York agent's assistant. That led to a part on One Life to Live and roles on The WB's Angel and the series BuLL. Her big break came when Law & Order creator Dick Wolf handpicked her for a screen test. PERFECT DATE "Going to a restaurant doesn't cut it. You'll never get to know someone just sitting across the table and talking. You have to experience each other. I think taking a road trip together is really good for romance." TRUE CONFESSIONS After two ill-fated engagements, Elisabeth's stance on relationships has changed. "I always wanted the fairy tale, but now I want someone who is a great partner. When you fall head over heels for someone, you're not falling in love with who they are as a person; you're falling in love with your idea of love."

Orbach Quits "Law & Order" Beat Lia Haberman, E! Online, 3.26.04 It’s the end of an era. Law & Order veteran Jerry Orbach will be leaving the NBC series at the end of this season, according to sources close to the show. The thesp has played professional curmudgeon Detective Lennie Briscoe for 12 of the show's 14 years on the air--making him the longest-serving member on a show known for cast upheavals. Among those who've passed through the crime's drama's revolving door over the years are Angie Harmon, Benjamin Bratt, Paul Sorvino, Jill Hennessy, and Carey Lowell, Diane Wiest and Chris Noth. No word yet on how his character will be replaced but according to the Hollywood Reporter, Orbach may play some role in Dick Wolf's fourth franchise installment Law & Order: Trial By Jury following the promotion of his character's partner, Detective Ed Green (played by Jesse L. Martin), on the flagship show. The move would promote S. Epatha Merkerson, who's played Lieutenant Anita Van Buren since '93, to senior cast member, followed by Sam Waterston, who joined as no-nonsense Assistant D.A. Jack McCoy in '94. Waterston just re-upped on the Emmy-winning series through at least the 2004-05 television season. Rounding out the current cast are Elisabeth Rohm and Fred Dalton Thompson. The ripped-from-the-headlines drama celebrated its 300th episode last year and still ranks as TV's 13th most watched show, averaging 15.9 million viewers this season. It's also proved a cash show for the Peacock, spawning two highly rated spinoffs--Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as well as the upcoming Trial By Jury, described as a contemporary Perry Mason. Along with upping his recognition factor, Orbach's stint on Law & Order also netted the actor an Emmy nomination for Lead Actor and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations as part of the show's ensemble. Orbach previously made a name for himself on stage and the big screen. He originated the role of El Gallo in the long-running off-Broadway sensation The Fantasticks and won a Tony for 1969's Promises, Promises, while film credits range from Dirty Dancing and The Flamingo Kid to Beauty and the Beast.

NBC: New "Law & Order" Franchise Coming Next Season Daniel Fienberg, Zap2It, 3.3.04 Though a possible fourth installment of Dick Wolf's powerful "Law & Order" series isn't on NBC's development slate for the fall season, the network remains confident that a new permutation of the franchise will be ready to debut sometime next year. NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker tells reporters that due to the network's commitment to year-round programming, even if a fall launch is impossible, there will be no reservations launching a new "Law & Order" outside of the traditional September or October period. While Zucker won't give specifics on what brand of law and/or order the latest incarnation would cover, it sounds as if ideas have been bandied about. "With regards to the fourth edition, it's a pretty unique twist on the franchise and it's significantly different from any of the first three," he says. "As we've said all along, these are four different shows, each unique. 'SVU' is as different from 'Law & Order' as 'Criminal Intent' is as different from 'SVU' as any of the other procedural crime dramas anywhere else." Zucker also scoffs at the notion that the marketplace has already reached a saturation point with Wolf's brand of compelling, but formulaic drama. "This franchise is hotter than it's ever been," he insists. The original "Law & Order" is down nearly 2 million viewers per night from the same time last season (16.2 million vs. 18 million), but Zucker attributes that dip to an even large decline in audience for the show's "West Wing" lead-in. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" has dipped from 15.2 million viewers last year at this time to 12.8 million, but the show has survived a move from Friday nights and still regularly wins its Tuesday night 10 p.m. ET time slot. Sunday night stalwart "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" has seen the lowest level of viewer attrition, falling from 14.6 million to 13.2 million, perhaps the victim of the renewed strength of CBS' Sunday movie franchise. All three entries play strongly in reruns, syndication and during the doldrums of the summer and all three have been successful in retaining viewers in the adult 18-49 demographic that NBC craves.