TVSquad

(S01E01) You might think that you're watching a variation on Law & Order when the first few minutes of The Good Wife commences. It's not just that Chris Noth is in the scene, looking every bit like Mike Logan. It's more that the scene is ripped from the headlines. Disgraced politician -- Elliot Spitzer, David Vitter, Jim McGreevey -- caught in a sex scandal. His innocent, good wife, standing beside him.

As Alicia Florrick, the wife of a Chicago prosecutor who was caught sucking the toes of prostitutes and forced to resign, Julianna Margulies masters the shell-shocked, distant gaze. Her eyes, in fact, fixate on a stray thread on his suit. But the fog lifts quickly and away from the podium, reality comes in the form of a smack in the face. She delivers the smack, and from that moment, you're on her side. Maybe it was a cheap trick, but it worked.

A lot of people thought that one or both of the NBC shows Law and Order and Law and Order: Criminal Intent would be on the cancellation list when NBC presents its upfront tomorrow, but the network has surprised many fans by renewing both shows.

There is a little twist when it comes to Law and Order: CI though. The show will actually first run the new episodes of the season on USA and then NBC will run repeats.

Law and Order is a straight renewal though. The show will head into its 18th season of shows "ripped from the headlines!" As far as Law and Order: SVU goes, most expect that to be renewed with no problem. We'll have full coverage of the network upfronts all this week, starting with NBC on Monday.