“That’s a question for Dick Wolf,” D’Onofrio said. “But c’mon, what am I, an idiot? It’s a great part. He’s a great–look, Dick, seven, eight, nine episodes would be great.”
Later, on Twitter, D’Onofrio tagged his Criminal Intent co-star Kathryn Erbe to pitch her on the prospect of a revival.
Practically speaking, the chances of a full-blown Law & Order: Criminal Intent continuation remains low. There’s a reason it was canceled in the first place. While the TV viewer’s appetite for Law & Order is prolific, it isn’t infinite. Even the original Law & Order ran out of steam, taking nearly a decade off before getting its revival. Meanwhile, the crackling chemistry between Eliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and the prurient nature of the crimes they suspect on Law & Order: SVU always captured audience’s interests far more than on the relatively cerebral Criminal Intent. nowadays, Organized Crime fulfills mostly the same niche as Criminal Intent with its investigators looking to delve into the psyche of major criminal offenders.
Still, if a proper Law & Order: Criminal Intent reboot isn’t in the cards might we make the case for at least the return of D’Onofrio’s Detective Goren on one of the three other shows? Crossovers aren’t a rarity by any stretch in the Law & Order franchise. In fact, Erbe reprized her CI role of Detective Eames in Law & Order: SVU season 14. With that present set there’s no reason why Detective Goren shouldn’t pop up for an extended arc some where. And honestly: he really should.
D’Onofrio’s character was one of the strangest and most interesting creations in all of the Law & Order canon. As Marvel fans would eventually discover with his portrayal of Kingpin, D’Onofrio only has one setting when it comes to acting and it’s “11/10.” His Goren was soft-spoken, thoughtful, and idiosyncratic until suddenly… he was very loud. The performance is worth seeing on television again even if only for Goren’s exaggerated leans alone.