'Criminal Intent' renewed for 8th season

New York -- The U.S. television drama series "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" has been renewed for an eighth season, USA Network announced Friday.

The network said it has placed an order for 16 episodes of Wolf Films and NBCU Cable Studio's series, which attempts to take viewers into the minds of its criminals while also following the psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve the crimes.

This is the first time under NBCU Cable Studio that the series is being produced. The show started out on NBC, then moved to USA last fall.

The announcement about the eighth season was made Friday by Bonnie Hammer, president of NBCU Cable Entertainment & Cable Studio.

"We're thrilled to have 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' for another season," Hammer said in a statement. "We not only forged new ground with its launch on USA last October, but we also succeeded in delivering to our viewers some of the finest writing and acting on television."

The continuation of the seventh season of the show, which was interrupted by the Writers Guild of America strike, is to debut June 8 on USA.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.