DICK Wolf, who made a franchise out of "Law & Order," has a second franchise in the works: Killing off disgraced publisher, Judith Regan.

Friday night will mark the second time in as many years that a Judith-like "high-profile publisher" character is brutally murdered. And the second time a suspect is a man she first played around with and then played for a fool.

First time "L&O" killed her off in 2005, it was on Michael Imperioli's first episode on the series called "Publish and Perish," in which both a porn actress ala Jenna Jameson (who was a real-life Regan "author"), and a Judith Regan-like high profile publisher are murdered.

Who done it that time? Bernie Kerik - or the Kerik-like "ambitious and powerful police commissioner nominated for the nation's top security post."

But back then Wolf didn't know that the publisher's high profile love affair with the very-married Kerik and the publication of Jameson's scandalous book wouldn't be the worst of the sludge to be drudged from the slush pile of Regan's life. There was the O.J. book yet to come.

On Friday night's episode, "Murder Book," "L&O" kills off the Regan character again - but this time because of a book in which ex-athlete (Bobby Cannavale) postulates how he would have killed his ex-wife if he had killed his ex-wife, which of course he didn't.

When the Regan-type is found slain with her blood and guts smeared around the hallway of her apartment building, there are many suspects. It's a matter of eliminating everyone who could have wanted her dead. That of course means everyone who's ever worked for her, slept with her or, well, basically ever known her.

Was it JP Lang, the ex-athlete and murderer of his wife? Was it Gerald Stockwell, (Christopher Denham), the ghost writer of Lang's tell-nothing? Was it her assistant whom she treated like a piece of dog poop on the sole of her Manolo's? Or was it a collective effort by everyone in the world?

Everyone, it seems, has a reason to knock her off.

Lang says they had a strictly sexual relationship until she wanted to move it to the level of a relationship-relationship. "She wanted us to go to St. Bart's together," he sneers. "Can you imagine being alone on an island with that bitch?"

The ghost writer has a reason to want her dead because she rejected his draft and canned him from the book. Well, like I said, everyone has a reason, but who really has a motive?

Good stuff. Lots o' fun - unless of course you are Judith Regan, in which case you've got a reason and a motive to kill - the writers - of "Law & Order" who cut you no slack lady. No slack at all.