It was interesting at first. It had a cool perspective. It started with the crime and followed through as the story went through investigation and prosecution. The criminals in the first few seasons were a fairly diverse lot. Michael Moriarty left after four seasons. He said one of the show bosses was a tyrant and I forget who it was.
They lifted many of the stories from actual crimes. After Moriarty left, the show took a strong turn to the left. Plenty of other FReepers pointed out that the show’s emphasis became, “the white guy did it. The (minority) victim just wanted some government cheese.” It became an unitentional parody and unwatchable after the sixth season.
I suspect Sherlock Holmes was getting close.
I liked L&O for the first several years but it got tired.