Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Synopsis

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Main Cast

Mariska Hargitay

Olivia Benson

Age : 59 | Popularity : 46%

Peter Scanavino

Dominick 'Sonny' Carisi Jr.

Age : 42 | Popularity : 10%

Ice-T

Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola

Age : 64 | Popularity : 33%

Seasons

Season 1

1999 | 22 episodes

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on September 20, 1999 on NBC. Created by Dick Wolf, it is the first spin-off of Law & Order. It originally aired on Monday nights at 9 p.m. EST, but was moved to Friday nights at 10 p.m. after the 9th episode. Showrunner Robert Palm felt too disturbed by the subject matter and left after the season's conclusion.

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Season 2

2000 | 21 episodes

As Neal Baer's first year producing the show, the second season was accompanied by drastic changes in tone. Additionally, the series began to increase its focus on trial scenes with the addition of an Assistant District Attorney for sex crimes to the cast.

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Season 3

2001 | 23 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Season 4

2002 | 25 episodes

The 4th season was the last season of the series to air on Friday nights at 10 p.m. ET.

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Season 5

2003 | 25 episodes

The 5th season moved away from its Friday night slot to Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. ET. Casey Novak, the unit's longest serving ADA, was introduced in the fifth episode when Diane Neal joined the cast to fill the absence left by Stephanie March.

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Season 6

2004 | 23 episodes

The 6th season was halfway through airing when Mariska Hargitay won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama, becoming the first regular cast member of any Law & Order series to win a Golden Globe.

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Season 7

2005 | 22 episodes

The 7th season was critically the show's most successful season, both lead actors received nominations at the 2006 Emmy Awards with a win by Mariska Hargitay.

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Season 8

2006 | 22 episodes

The 8th season saw the introduction of a new partner for Detective Stabler, early episodes of Season 8 took on a significantly different focus when compared to those of previous seasons.

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Season 9

2007 | 19 episodes

The 9th season aired on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET. Mariska Hargitay, having won a Golden Globe Award in 2005, received her second Golden Globe nomination for her work in the ninth season.

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Season 10

2008 | 22 episodes

The 10th season was the last season of the show to occupy the Tuesday 10 p.m. timeslot.

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Season 11

2009 | 24 episodes

The 11th season was moved from Tuesdays to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET. On March 3, 2010 SVU returned to its previous time slot of 10 p.m. ET. On January 22, 2010, in the wake of the conflict between Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, NBC announced that they would order two additional episodes to fill in the gaps of the departing The Jay Leno Show.

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Season 12

2010 | 24 episodes

This was the first season that the show did not air alongside the original Law & Order.

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Season 13

2011 | 23 episodes

Season 13 dealt with the departure of Detective Elliot Stabler from the Special Victims Unit after a shooting in the squad room.

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Season 14

2012 | 24 episodes

The series' landmark 300th episode aired this season on October 24, 2012, watched by 6.77 million total viewers. This is the first season of SVU to have any kind of crossover with now-ended Law & Order spinoff - Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

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Season 15

2013 | 24 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Season 16

2014 | 23 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Season 17

2015 | 23 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Season 18

2016 | 21 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Season 19

2017 | 24 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Season 20

2018 | 24 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Season 21

2019 | 20 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Season 22

2020 | 16 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Season 23

2021 | 22 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Season 24

2022 | 16 episodes

No Synopsis For This Season Yet.

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Crew

Department	Role	Name
Production	Executive Producer	Dick Wolf
Department	Role	Name

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