<P> Law & Order: Criminal Intent follows the New York City Police Department's fictional Major Case Squad, which investigates high - profile murder cases . The first season of twenty - two episodes concluded its initial airing on May 10, 2002 . Four actors received star billing in the first season: Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan, and Courtney B. Vance . </P> <P> Episodes depict Detectives Robert Goren (D'Onofrio) and Alexandra Eames (Erbe) as the squad's lead investigators . Captain James Deakins (Sheridan) is the detectives' direct supervisor and head of the Major Case Squad . Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver (Vance) often attempts to obtain confessions from the suspects, rather than taking them to trial . Law & Order: Criminal Intent focuses on the actions and motives of the criminals, and it divides screen time equally between the suspects and victims and the police's investigation . </P> <P> The season was filmed on location in New York City . Scenes set inside the Major Case Squad department were filmed in a studio at Chelsea Piers, Manhattan . </P> <P> The season was nominated for four awards and was described by some reviewers as the most impressive of all the Law & Order series . It was sold to numerous television stations around the world, and it has been adapted into localized foreign versions in Russia and France . It has been syndicated in the US on a number of cable channels . A DVD box set of Season 1 was released in America on October 21, 2003, and episodes are available for purchase at the US iTunes Store and Amazon Video on Demand . </P>

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