This February, Law & Order returns to Sky1 and Sky1 HD with the 17th series of crime fighting set on the mean streets of New York. A highly regarded television institution, the long running series has set the standard for procedural drama, offering consistently compelling stories of crime and passion to a large and loyal audience.

Like the legal process itself, each dramatic episode unfolds in two segments. Firstly, the viewer is plunged into the seedy urban jungle, following a team of detectives as they track down suspects and make arrests. Secondly, the focus shifts to the courts as the district attorneys take over and the courtroom drama unfolds until justice prevails.

The new season opens with an episode that sees Detective Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin, Ally McBeal) and new addition to the team Detective Nina Cassady (Milena Govich, Rescue Me) investigate the death of a cop who was accidentally killed during a botched robbery. The case leads them to some stolen photographs of a celebrity mother, who along with her deadbeat husband, has been neglecting her child; a story inspired by events surrounding Britney Spears and Kevin Federline.

Along with Cassady, another new character is set to be introduced in this new season. Alana De La Garza (CSI: Miami) joins as assistant district attorney Connie Rubirosa. It’s not long before Rubirosa is thrown into the media spotlight as she is forced to argue the use of the shield law that protects celebrity journalism. Chevy Chase (Caddyshack) is also lined up for a guest appearance in the seventh episode as television actor Mitch Carroll. Based on the recent antics of Mel Gibson, the episode sees Carroll unleash an anti-Semitic tirade on the media, but for the detectives, their biggest concern is the murder he may have covered up.

LAW & ORDER Season 17, begins Thursday 26 February at 11pm on Sky1 and Sky1 HD.