This has happened on local TV before. In a post last February, I noted the odd conundrum of Fox's "911" playing on Global, only to have the second-part of a crossover episode from its spinoff "911: Lone-Star" airing an hour later on CTV. It's one of those bizarre side effects of selling separate shows to Canadian TV and wanting the simulcast money. 

This could only happen in Canada, and I hope viewers who watch the franchise will, as they say, check their local listings, before missing one or the other. This is only going to happen more often as shows do popular crossover episodes at least once a season. (Grey's Anatomy & Station 19 both did one recently.)

Feb. 1: Crossover Episode Creates Awkward Moment For CTV Monday Night  

If you think this is bad now, wait until these shows go into syndication. Not only will they not conclude back-to-back, you may never see either the first episode or its ending, depending on who buys the rights to which one in their local market.  

I don't think Dick Wolf has fully explored all the possible Law & Order variants yet. What about:

Law & Order: Bylaw Enforcement
Law & Order: Night Court (with John Larroquette)
Law & Order: Transit Patrol
Law & Order: Traffic Services
Law & Order: Commissionaire
Law & Order: Maritime Offences
Law & Order: Parks Management
Law & Order: Campus Police Unit
Law & Order: Parades and Festival Security

I don't think the awkward cross over would be unique to Canada at all.  You are assuming that private networks in the UK, Australia, Germany etc. would automatically pick up the spin off or have the rights to the originating network sister show which is involved with the one off cross promo.  Networks in other countries also cherry pick shows from various networks similar to CTV and Global and don't always have the rights or decided not to buy the spin off or stable mate show involved with the cross over.  And in many cases the other half of the cross over could be running on a competitor, similar to here. 

paterson1 wrote:

I don't think the awkward cross over would be unique to Canada at all.  You are assuming that private networks in the UK, Australia, Germany etc. would automatically pick up the spin off or have the rights to the originating network sister show which is involved with the one off cross promo.  Networks in other countries also cherry pick shows from various networks similar to CTV and Global and don't always have the rights or decided not to buy the spin off or stable mate show involved with the cross over.  And in many cases the other half of the cross over could be running on a competitor, similar to here. 

I guess it just surprised me because of the original Law & Order being on CTV and all of the spinoffs to this point also being on CTV, or CTV 2.

That being said, Dick Wolf's other, non-L&O series on NBC have aired on networks other than CTV in Canada. Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. were on Global initially and now both are on Citytv.