The tenth and final season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent premiered Sunday, May 1, 2011, on USA Network. The timeslot was moved to Sunday nights at 9 p.m. (ET) from Tuesday nights at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central. This marks the first and only season since the show's debut that did not air with the original Law & Order still on the air, due to the latter's cancellation by NBC in May 2010. Episodes from this season repeated on NBC on Mondays starting May 30, 2011, at 9 p.m. (ET), leading into new episodes of Law & Order: LA, which was placed on hiatus from January to early April 2011, causing its own new episodes to air through July 2011. Law & Order: Criminal Intent finished its ten season run on June 26, 2011. It was confirmed by USA Network co-president Jeff Wachtel on July 15, 2011; when asked about a possible 11th season Wachtel answered "No—and this is said with respect for the show, respect for Dick [Wolf], and most significantly with respect to the audience." Wachtel also cited reasons for not renewing being monetary issues. The episodes in the tenth season averaged 4.43 million total viewers and 1.67 million in the age 18-49 demographic; higher than the numbers the show pulled in the ninth season. Cast and crew changes and returning characters In August 2010, Jeff Goldblum (Detective Zack Nichols) announced his departure from the series after switching agencies and being unsure of the series's future. The options for renewal of Goldblum, Saffron Burrows, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's contracts formally expired on July 31, 2010, after being extended by a month on June 30 when they were originally up. The series at the time was in limbo. Over a month later, it was confirmed that Criminal Intent was returning for a tenth and final season consisting of eight episodes, with star Vincent D'Onofrio who portrays Detective Robert Goren. The news of Law & Order: CI getting a proper closure was in stark contrast with the abrupt cancellation of the original mothership series by NBC in May 2010. Weeks later, it was announced that Kathryn Erbe would be returning as her character Detective Alex Eames, also confirming that ninth season cast member Saffron Burrows (Detective Serena Stevens) had departed. This meant a return to the single, original pair of Detectives Eames and Goren that featured in the first