Location, location, location.

It’s the key in real estate and it can be key in TV series.

For 20 seasons, “Law & Order” and its sister shows, “SVU” and “Criminal Intent,”   were set in New York City, where they took full advantage of the eight million stories available in the naked city and about a million New Yawk actors.

To freshen up the franchise version of the show, Dick Wolf would just change some cast members over the years.

Now that “Law & Order” has been canceled, he has changed the location. The new version is called “Law & Order: Los Angeles,” where it can take advantage of Hollywood stories, legendary Southern California cases and actors who would rather live on the West Coast.

 The result in tonight’s 10 premiere on Channel 2 is decent without being special, primarily because the ripped-from-the-headlines case involving a teen star modeled after Lindsay Lohan,  Britney Spears or some other real-life, self-destructive teen has been done to death.

It also doesn’t help that some of the big acting names in the series – including Terrence Howard, Peter Coyote and Rachel Ticotin – don’t appear until next week’s slightly more interesting episode about the murder of a woman who was involved in a Manson-like cult 30 years earlier.

The Los Angeles backdrop also is a co-star in the series, with visits to Hollywood-type clubs and Southern California beaches in the first two weeks.

And there is one notable departure from the New York City versions of “L&O.” The home life of one of the lead detectives (played by Skeet Ulrich, above of “Jericho”) is explored next week when his wife (played by Teri Polo) also joins the cast as a former policewoman.

Of course, viewers know the “Law & Order” drill by now. The detectives played by Ulrich and the imposing Corey Stoll trade some dry lines while they investigate a murder and then hand the case off to the prosecutors.

Noting that an actor leaves eight Rolexes out in the open rather than in a nearby safe, Ulrich cracks, “genius.”

“Actor,” replies Stoll.

Molina is the district attorney who apparently has seen it all and is a little bored by it all.

“Wow me,” he tells a suspect who wants to trade information for a reduced sentence.

After the guy volunteers some info, Molina dryly notes “Interested, not wowed.”

The opening case has a similar cynical attitude about the California lifestyle, stage moms and how quickly a waiter making minimum wage can be making $3 million a picture.

 Next week’s episode is slightly stronger because of Howard’s performance. He plays a prosecutor with a tender side that shouldn’t be confused with weak as he prosecutes a murderer whose unusual circumstances make her somewhat of a compassionate figure.

 The cases are interesting and the series is bound to appeal to fans of the old “L & O.” Just don’t expect to be wowed.

 Rating: 2 and a half stars out of 4

 On a sad note, Fox’s “Lone Star” was canceled after only two episodes. It was my favorite new show but few Western New Yorkers will weep. It didn’t even average a 2 rating for its second episode Monday. Don’t be surprised if filmed episodes land on FX, Fox’s cable channel.

pergament@msn.com  

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