‘Law & Order’ creator Dick Wolf is saying the decision to fire Skeet Ulrich from the franchise’s newest spin-off, ‘Los Angeles,’ was a “very, very painful call to make,” latimesblogs.com is reporting. Ulrich’s character, Detective Rex Winters, will be the second main character killed in the franchise’s history, after the original series’ A.D.A. Claire Kincaid, who was portrayed by Jill Hennessy, was in a fatal car crash in 1996.

Ulrich was fired as part of a creative transition in ‘Law & Order: LA,’ and is being replaced by Alfred Molina, who will portray prosecutor Ricardo Morlaes. The character is set to move from the D.A.’s office to the LAPD to become a detective.

Wolf has continually praised Ulrich, who played one of ‘Law & Order: LA’s lead characters, and was the first actor hired for the series. Even though Wolf enjoyed Ulrich’s performance, the creator agreed with Bob Greenblatt, NBC Universal’s president of of entertainment, that the spin-off wasn’t living up to expectations. Greenblatt felt the first half of the show, which focuses on the police investigation, wasn’t clicking with the second half, which details the prosecution of the suspect.

Part of ‘Law & Order: LA’s problems were blamed on the rush to get the show on the air for the fall 2010 schedule. But Wolf, who said ‘Law & Order: LA’ is now “different and better,” would like to work with Ulrich again in a situation that’s better fit for him.

Written by: Karen Benardello