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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Premiere September 20, 1999
Airs Thursdays at 9PM
Creator Dick Wolf
Network/Provider NBC (USA)
CTV (Canada seasons 1-22)
Citytv (Canada seasons 23-)
Style 60-minute crime drama
Company Wolf Films
Studios USA (seasons 1-3)
Universal Network Television (seasons 4-5)
NBC Universal Television Studio (seasons 6-8)
Universal Media Studios (seasons 9-12)
Universal Television (season 13-)
Seasons 25
Episodes 538 + 1 unaired (through season 24)
(List of episodes)
Status Currently airing season 25
Origin USA
Official Site NBC
USA
Official Twitter @nbcsvu feed on X
Official Facebook Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on Facebook

See the Law & Order franchise article for other Law & Order series.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (known as Sex Crimes during development) was the first series to spin off from Law & Order, starring two detectives in New York's Special Victims Unit, a section of the police dedicated to investigating sex crimes and child abuse. However, despite being one of the most popular shows connected to the Law & Order franchise, it was originally pitched to NBC as an original series under the name Sex Crimes. When the idea was shot down due to the harsh name, executives at the network met with Dick Wolf to adopt the series into the Law & Order universe.

The series breaks with Law & Order's method of splitting the episode in half, one part being about the investigation of the crime and the other about the prosecution of that crime. Instead, SVU utilizes character based drama by focusing on the main two detectives, Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson with a supporting cast who act as foils to the main two. This makes the series less about the crime committed and more about the reactions of the detectives to the crime.

Contents

Cast

Actor Character Duration
Main Cast 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Christopher Meloni Det. Elliot Stabler * * * * * * * * * * * * o o o
Mariska Hargitay Captain Olivia Benson * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Danny Pino Det. Nick Amaro * * * *
Kelli Giddish Det. Amanda Rollins * * * * * * * * * * * *
Richard Belzer Sgt. John Munch * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * o
Michelle Hurd Det. Monique Jefferies * *
Stephanie March ADA Alexandra Cabot * * * * o o * o
Diane Neal ADA Casey Novak * * * * * o o
Ice-T Det. Fin Tutuola * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Peter Scanavino Det. Dominick Carisi, Jr. * * * * * * * * * *
Raul Esparza ADA Rafael Barba o * * * * * o
Adam Beach Det. Chester Lake o *
Michaela McManus ADA Kim Greylek *
B.D. Wong Dr. George Huang o o * * * * * * * * * o o o o
Tamara Tunie ME Melinda Warner o o o o o * * * * * * o o o o o o o o o
Dann Florek Capt. Donald Cragen * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * o
Philip Winchester ADA Peter Stone * *
Jamie Gray Hyder Katriona "Kat" Azar Tamin * * *
Demore Barnes Deputy Chief Christian Garland o * *
Octavio Pisano Detective Joe Velasco * * *
Molly Burnett Detective Grace Muncy *
Orange/Red/o indicates a recurring or guest role during that season.
Dark Green indicates top billing during that season.
Supporting/Recurring Cast 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Isabel Gillies Kathy Stabler * * * * * * * * * * *
Harvey Atkin Judge Alan Ridenour * * * * * * * *
Jeffrey Scaperrotta Dickie Stabler * * * * * * *
Holiday Segal Kathleen Stabler *
Allison Siko   * * * * * *
Dean Winters Det. Brian Cassidy * * * *
Joanna Merlin Judge Lena Petrovsky * * * * * * * * * * *
Tom O'Rourke Judge Mark Seligman * * * * * *
Peter Hermann Defense Attorney Trevor Langan * * * * * * * * * * * *
Joel de la Fuente TARU Tech Ruben Morales * * * * * * * * * *
Jill Marie Lawrence Defense Attorney Cleo Conrad * * * * * * *
Robert John Burke Lt. Ed Tucker * * * * * * * * * * *
Daniel Sunjata CSU Tech Burt Trevor * * *
Judith Light EADA Elizabeth Donnelly * * * * * * * * *
Caren Browning CSU Capt. Judith Siper * * * * * * * * *
Ned Eisenberg Defense Attorney Roger Kressler * * * * * * * * * *
Peter McRobbie Judge Walter Bradley * * * * * * * * *
Mike Doyle CSU Tech Ryan O'Halloran * * * * * *
Stephen Gregory Dr. Kyle Beresford * * * * * * *
Joselin Reyes Paramedic Martinez * * * * * * * *
Audrie Neenan Judge Lois Preston * * * * * *
Erica Bradshaw Court Officer Lyons * * * * * *
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Seasons

Season  Premiere Finale #
NBC
Season One September 20, 1999 May 21, 2000 22
Season Two October 20, 2000 May 11, 2001 21
Season Three September 28, 2001 May 17, 2002 22
Season Four September 27, 2002 May 16, 2003 25
Season Five September 23, 2003 May 18, 2004 25
Season Six September 21, 2004 May 24, 2005 22
Season Seven September 20, 2005 May 16, 2006 22
Season Eight September 19, 2006 May 22, 2007 22
Season Nine September 25, 2007 May 13, 2008 19
Season Ten September 23, 2008 June 2, 2009 22
Season Eleven September 23, 2009 May 19, 2010 24
Season Twelve September 22, 2010 May 18, 2011 24
Season Thirteen September 21, 2011 May 23, 2012 23
Season Fourteen September 26, 2012 May 22, 2013 24
Season Fifteen September 25, 2013 May 21, 2014 24
Season Sixteen September 24, 2014 May 20, 2015 23
Season Seventeen September 23, 2015 May 25, 2016 23
Season Eighteen September 21, 2016 May 24, 2017 21 + 1
Season Nineteen September 27, 2017 May 23, 2018 24
Season Twenty September 27, 2018 May 16, 2019 24
Season Twenty-One September 26, 2019 April 23, 2020 20
Season Twenty-Two November 12, 2020 June 3, 2021 16
Season Twenty-Three September 23, 2021 May 19, 2022 22
Season Twenty-Four September 22, 2022 May 18, 2023 22
Season Twenty-Five January 18, 2024 May 16, 2024 13

In-Depth

DVD Releases

Title Release Discs
Season Sets  (Region 1)
The First Year October 21, 2003 purchase 6
The Second Year September 27, 2005 purchase 3
The Third Year January 30, 2007 purchase 5
The Fourth Year December 4, 2007 purchase 5
The Fifth Year September 14, 2004 purchase 5
The Sixth Year April 1, 2008 purchase 5
The Seventh Year July 29, 2008 purchase 5
The Eighth Year February 17, 2009 purchase 5
The Ninth Year May 26, 2009 purchase 5
The Tenth Year September 22, 2009 purchase 5
The Eleventh Year September 21, 2010 purchase 5
The Twelfth Year September 27, 2011 purchase 5
The Thirteenth Year September 25, 2012 purchase 5
The Fourteenth Year September 24, 2013 purchase 5
The Fifteenth Year September 23, 2014 purchase 5
The Sixteenth Year September 1, 2015 5
Individual Episodes  (Region 1)
Premiere Episode June 3, 2003 purchase 1

External Sites

The Law & Order Franchise
Current Series

Law & OrderLaw & Order: Special Victims UnitLaw & Order: Organized Crime

Current Adaptations

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent

Past Series

Law & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Trial by JuryLaw & Order: Los AngelesConvictionLaw & Order: True Crime

Past Adaptations

Law & Order: UK