OLIVIA D'ABO TO GUEST STAR ON NBC'S LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT'S SEASON DEBUT, SEPT. 25, 9-10 P.M. ET/PT

D'Abo's Character Returns After Viewers Voted Online to Save Character's Storyline in Season Four

NEW YORK -- September 21, 2005 -- Olivia D'Abo ("The Wonder Years") returns to guest star on NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent's season debut as the infamous Nicole Wallace, Detective Goren's (Vincent D'Onofrio) murdering nemesis (Sept. 25, 9-10 p.m. ET/PT). Last season in a network first, NBC offered viewers the chance to decide the fate of D'Abo's character by voting online after viewing alternate endings -- one in which she escaped; the other she perished (10/17/04).

More than 116,000 viewers cast their vote online, ultimately deciding to keep D'Abo's character alive, thus providing further frustration and torment for Detective Goren in his pursuit of Wallace. This Sunday's episode marks D'Abo's fourth turn as the cunning chameleon who resurfaces when she's found romantically involved with a key link to a slain city health inspector. Detectives Goren and Eames (Kathryn Erbe) fear that the daughter of Wallace's love interest may be her next victim.

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent," which returns for its fifth season, features the addition of Detectives Mike Logan (Chris Noth) and Carolyn Barek (Annabella Sciorra). Partners Logan and Barek join the Major Case Squad alongside long-time partners Detectives Goren and Eames on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The two Major Case Squad detective teams will split the caseloads, fronting 11 episodes each.

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" is a Wolf Films production in association with NBC Universal Television Studio and is Dick Wolf's third installment of the "Law and Order" brand, the second-longest running drama series in the history of television. Wolf, Rene Balcer, Fred Berner and Peter Jankowski are executive producers.