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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

(1999) | Returning Series | # of Seasons : 20 | # of Eps : 453

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Series Details

Seasons: 20

Total Episodes: 453

Creators: Dick Wolf

Networks: NBC

Status: Returning Series

First Air Date: Sep 20, 1999

Recent Air Date: Mar 14, 2019

Run Time: m

In Production: Yes

Original Language: English

Age Rating: TV-14

Website: Link

Production Companies: Wolf Films , Universal Television , USA Network

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Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Stream Sources

Seasons 4 on Netflix

Seasons 19 on Hulu

Seasons 1 on NBC

Purchase (Rent or Buy episodes, seasons or full series)

Seasons 15 on Amazon Instant Video

Seasons 16 on Google Play Movies

Seasons 16 on FandangoNOW

Seasons 16 on Vudu

Seasons 9 on PlayStation

Seasons 16 on Microsoft Store

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 : 55 | Popularity : 18%

Ice-T

Fin Tutuola

Age : 61 | Popularity : 8%

Kelli Giddish

Amanda Rollins

Age : 38 | Popularity : 21%

Peter Scanavino

Detective Dominick 'Sonny' Carisi, Jr.

Age : 39 | Popularity : 11%

Philip Winchester

Peter Stone

Age : 37 | Popularity : 12%

Seasons

Season 1

1999 | 22 episodes

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, an American police procedural television series, premiered on September 20, 1999 on NBC. Created by Dick Wolf, it is the first spin-off of Law & Order and follows the detectives of a fictionalized version of the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit, which investigates sexually based offenses. SVU originally aired on Monday nights at 9:00 p.m. EST, but it was moved to Friday nights at 10:00 p.m. after the ninth episode. Showrunner Robert Palm felt too disturbed by the subject matter and left after the season's conclusion.

Season 2

2000 | 21 episodes

The 2nd season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered October 20, 2000 and ended May 11, 2001 on NBC. The show remained in its time slot, Friday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern / 9:00 p.m. Central. 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.

Season 3

2001 | 23 episodes

The 3rd season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered Friday, September 28, 2001 and ended Friday, May 17, 2002 on NBC. It occupied the Friday 10:00 p.m. timeselot once again.

Season 4

2002 | 25 episodes

The 4th season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 27, 2002 and ended May 16, 2003 on NBC. This was the last season of the series to air on Friday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern / 9:00 p.m. Central.

Season 5

2003 | 25 episodes

The 5th season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 23, 2003 and ended May 18, 2004 on NBC. Law & Order: SVU moved away from its Friday night slot to Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern / 9:00 p.m. Central. 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.

Season 6

2004 | 23 episodes

The 6th season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 21, 2004 and ended May 24, 2005 on NBC. It aired on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. In January 2005, when the season was halfway through airing, 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.

Season 7

2005 | 22 episodes

The 7th season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 20, 2005 and ended May 16, 2006 on NBC. It aired on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. Critically the show's most successful season, both lead actors received nominations at the 2006 Emmy Awards with a win by Mariska Hargitay.

Season 8

2006 | 22 episodes

The 8th season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 19, 2006 and ended May 22, 2007 on NBC. The series remained in its 10:00 p.m. Tuesday timeslot. With 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.

Season 9

2007 | 19 episodes

The 9th season of the police procedural / legal drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 25, 2007 and ended May 13, 2008 on NBC. It aired on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern / 9:00 p.m. Central. Mariska Hargitay, having won a Golden Globe Award in 2005, received her second Golden Globe nomination for her work in the ninth season.

Season 10

2008 | 22 episodes

The 10th season of the police procedural / legal drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 23, 2008 and ended June 2, 2009 on NBC. It was the last season of the show to occupy the Tuesday 10:00 p.m. timeslot.

Season 11

2009 | 24 episodes

The 11th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on September 23, 2009 and concluded on May 19, 2010. It was moved from Tuesdays to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET for the NBC broadcast. 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.

Season 12

2010 | 24 episodes

The 12th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered in the United States on the National Broadcasting Company on September 22, 2010, and concluded on May 18, 2011. This was the first season that the show did not air alongside the original Law & Order. Episodes initially aired on Wednesdays between 9 and 10 p.m. Eastern except for the season premiere which aired from 9 to 11. After the winter hiatus, SVU returned with another two-hour showing on January 5, 2011, before the broadcast time switched to the 10 p.m. time slot the following week. At the end of the season, Neal Baer resigned his position as showrunner. After the season finale, Christopher Meloni and B.D. Wong both left the cast.

Season 13

2011 | 23 episodes

The 13th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit debuted on NBC on September 21, 2011, and concluded on May 23, 2012. With Law & Order: LA and Law & Order: Criminal Intent having ended in May 2011 and June 2011 respectively, this season of Law & Order: SVU was broadcast without any other running U.S. Law & Order series. Season 13 dealt with the departure of Detective Elliot Stabler from the Special Victims Unit after a shooting in the squad room. Additionally, Warren Leight became the executive producer / showrunner for the series replacing Neal Baer who began working on a CBS medical drama.

Season 14

2012 | 24 episodes

The 14th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit debuted with a two-part premiere episode on September 26, 2012, at 9:00 pm on NBC, which was the show's weekly time slot. The fourteenth season picked up storyline-wise where the last season left off, with Captain Cragen awaking to a dead prostitute in his bed with her throat slit. The two-part season premiere was watched by 7.19 million total viewers and received generally positive reviews. The series' landmark 300th episode fell this season and aired 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, Kathryn Erbe guest starring in two episodes "Acceptable Loss" and Poisoned Motive as her LOCI character, Alexandra Eames, and Denis O'Hare guest starring in the episode "Presumed Guilty" as his LOCI character, Father Shea.