In news that comes as bitter irony for the cast of Southland, which was cancelled by NBC last year, the network has greenlit a new L.A.-based police drama series: Law & Order: Los Angeles. Yes, the L&O franchise will have four shows on the air again, with both SVU and Original Recipe returning this fall, and Criminal Intent hanging in there on USA. But what's to keep this new show from going the way of so many other Law & Order spin-offs over the years, as well as Dick Wolf's other law-enforcement dramas? They've already made a smart move by keeping the "L&O" prefix, but here are some other things they can learn from previous Wolf failures.

Tags: Conviction, Dragnet, Jerry Orbach, L.A. Dragnet, Law & Order, law & order: los angeles, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Law and Order, Lennie Briscoe, Mann & Machine, Nasty Boys