TV Q&A: When will Chris Meloni’s ‘Law Order’ spin-off air?

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.

Q: Do you know when the new “Law & Order” spin-off with Christopher Meloni reprising his role at Elliot Stabler debuts?

— Scott via Facebook

Rob: Meloni’s “Law & Order: Organized Crime” doesn’t yet have an air date on NBC. Like so many other series, it got pushed back due to the pandemic. And then its showrunner departed. Ilene Chaiken (“Empire”) was announced as the new showrunner in December. At this rate, NBC could opt to hold show for fall. Meloni’s new show is set in the organized crime department of the NYPD.

Stabler is supposed to appear on an episode of “Law & Order: SVU” this season — it filmed in December — but that episode doesn’t yet have an air date.

Another spin-off, the long-gestating “Law & Order: Hate Crimes,” which NBC ordered back in 2018 before tabling, may head to ad-supported streamer Peacock if it ever sees the light of day.

Q: I have been faithfully watching the early news and the quiz shows from 7-8 p.m. each evening because of the virus situation. I have been surprised at the large number of self-identified homosexual contestants. There are one or two per week especially on “Wheel of Fortune” and some on “Jeopardy!”

It strikes me that this is far above the average number in the general population.

Could it be that the “Disney people” who own the shows are attempting some “social engineering” or do they conduct special contestant searches in gay clubs?

— L.C., Butler

Rob: Wow, so much to unpack here. First, “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” are both Sony Pictures Entertainment shows distributed to stations nationwide. Disney has nothing to do with these programs.

As far as recruiting at gay clubs goes, given the timing of these episodes, it doesn’t seem likely that clubs of any sort would have been open (due to the pandemic) when producers would have been seeking contestants.

In addition, the shows are probably drawing more heavily from Southern California than usual due to fewer people being willing to travel due to covid-19. Based on data for the state of California and the LA metro area one would expect about 1 in 20 contestants to be LGBTQ+ going strictly by a percentage of the population, which producers are under no obligation to abide by.

I can’t imagine productions are asking contestants if they are gay or straight though producers may be able to deduce that from answers about family on a questionnaire. Generally producers look to recruit contestants who represent a cross-section of the country so that their shows have the broadest appeal possible and so a wide swath of viewers at home can recognize aspects of themselves in the contestants.

Q: Why lately during commercial breaks are they playing like .4 seconds of a commercial and then starting a new one? It’s so disconcerting, almost as bad as having the commercials in the first place. I have Verizon’s FiOS TV.

— Tina via Facebook

Rob: Sounds like a timing error on local commercial insertion or possibly equipment failure but I asked Verizon and received this response from company spokesperson Chris Serico: “Incorporating local ads into commercial breaks comes with its own set of timing challenges, including varying ad-break lengths established by different channels; differences in ad-copy lengths provided by advertisers; and variances in how regional ads are processed from start to finish. Navigating these challenges is an ongoing process and, as one of my co-workers described it, ‘It’s an art form, more than anything else.’ We appreciate (Tina’s) feedback, and we’ll continue to make adjustments to help avoid this from happening in the future.”