John Oliver has ripped into “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf, claiming his long-running TV police franchise presents law enforcement in a distorted “good guy” light.
The British comedian, 45, slammed Wolf’s signature work on Sunday night’s episode of “Last Week Tonight.”
Oliver noted how Wolf, 75, has a “close, behind-the-scenes relationship with the NYPD, employing officers as consultants and boasting about the access he had.”
He then revealed a past interview with an anonymous “Law & Order” writer, who claimed if the series depicted police in a more realistic, critical way, then the NYPD would make it very “difficult” to continue filming in the Big Apple.
The HBO show host went on to explain that because Wolf’s franchise works closely with the cops, there is much accuracy in how the “Law” is portrayed. Details such as “specific laws, jargon and crime-scene procedures” are illustrated properly, Oliver said.
“But crucially it also makes a lot of choices that significantly distort the big picture of police,” he said, adding that the right offender is usually arrested midway through the episode — and justice is done by the end.
John Oliver slammed “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf on his show “Last Week Tonight.”Jose Perez / SplashNews.com
Dick Wolf (second from left) created the “Law & Order” franchise in 1990, and the show is still on-air today.NBAE via Getty ImagesHowever, Oliver explained that this is very unrealistic, as not every court case is solved so quickly and almost “97% of cases” don’t go to trial.
“Obviously, ‘Law & Order’ cannot reflect that reality,” Oliver ranted. “It would be unwatchable.”
He also said defendants are usually “disproportionately white, male, older and from the middle or upper classes” and pointed out that Wolf once said that “there are no rich-white-guy pressure groups. You can do anything you want to rich white guys and nobody cares.”
Oliver discussed the widely popular procedural drama “Law & Order” on a recent episode of his HBO talk show, “Last Week Tonight.”Getty ImagesBut Oliver questioned this notion, saying that the executive producer “wants people to like [the] good guy cops” and having accusers excessively go after people of color would not do that.
” ‘Law & Order’ is never going to grapple with the reality of policing in a meaningful way,” Oliver added. “Because fundamentally, the person who is responsible for ‘Law & Order’ and its brand is Dick Wolf, and he knows exactly what he wants his shows to do and, importantly, not to do.”
Oliver continued: “[The series] presents a world where the cops can always figure out who did it, defense attorneys are irritating obstacles to be overcome, and even if a cop roughs up a suspect, it’s all in pursuit of a just outcome.”
The Post has reached out to Wolf’s reps for comment.
