Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
"Hope in the darkness."
A NBC Original
Special Victims Unit follows a New York Police Department squad that handles sexually based crimes and other sensitive cases. The series centers on Detective Olivia Benson, whose steady empathy anchors investigations that move between interviews, evidence, and the courtroom. Each episode pairs... Read more
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About Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Special Victims Unit follows a New York Police Department squad that handles sexually based crimes and other sensitive cases. The series centers on Detective Olivia Benson, whose steady empathy anchors investigations that move between interviews, evidence, and the courtroom. Each episode pairs police procedure with victims' experiences, showing how detectives piece together limited clues, push through bureaucratic hurdles, and work with prosecutors to pursue accountability. The tone shifts between hard-edged police work and scenes that emphasize support, trauma, and the human cost of crime. Over many seasons the cast changes, but the show keeps returning to moral ambiguity, the strain of this work on officers, and the ways victims and investigators reshape each other's lives.
Created by Dick Wolf, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on NBC in 1999 and is produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television. The series helped expand the Law & Order franchise and settled into a long-running procedural format with multiple showrunners and directors across seasons.
Mariska Hargitay won the 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Olivia Benson. Over its run the series and its performers have received numerous industry nominations and recognition for guest and supporting work, reflecting its sustained presence in television awards conversations.
The show’s opening narration and courtroom beats became part of pop culture shorthand for crime procedurals. Its longevity turned characters like Benson and Ice-T’s Fin into recognizable figures, and the series influenced how TV handles stories about sexual assault and victim advocacy through recurring focus on survivors and legal process.
Critics and audiences have responded to the series for strong central performances and steady procedural mechanics, reflected in a current vote average of 7.937/10 from 4,089 votes. Themes include institutional response to sexual violence, moral complexity in law enforcement, and the personal toll on investigators, with the show often balancing case-of-the-week plots against longer character arcs.
Details
- Release Date
- September 20, 1999
- Rating
- TV-14
- User Ratings
- 4,111 votes
- Type
- TV Series
- Seasons
- 27
- Episodes
- 585
- Network
- NBC
- Status
- Returning Series
- Genres
- Crime, Drama, Mystery
- Country
- United States
- Studio
- Wolf Entertainment +3 more
- External Links
- View on IMDB
Official Trailer
Cast
Mariska Hargitay
Olivia Benson
Ice-T
Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
Kelli Giddish
Amanda Rollins
Peter Scanavino
Dominick 'Sonny' Carisi Jr.
Aimé Donna Kelly
Renee Curry
Kevin Kane
Terry Bruno
Corey Cott
Det. Jake Griffin
Created by: Dick Wolf
Seasons (27 seasons, 585 episodes)
Season 1
22 episodes - 1999
Season 2
21 episodes - 2000
Season 3
23 episodes - 2001
Season 4
25 episodes - 2002
Season 5
25 episodes - 2003
Season 6
23 episodes - 2004
Season 7
22 episodes - 2005
Season 8
22 episodes - 2006
Season 9
19 episodes - 2007
Season 10
22 episodes - 2008
Season 11
24 episodes - 2009
Season 12
24 episodes - 2010
Season 13
23 episodes - 2011
Season 14
24 episodes - 2012
Season 15
24 episodes - 2013
Season 16
23 episodes - 2014
Season 17
23 episodes - 2015
Season 18
21 episodes - 2016
Season 19
24 episodes - 2017
Season 20
24 episodes - 2018
Season 21
20 episodes - 2019
Season 22
16 episodes - 2020
Season 23
22 episodes - 2021
Season 24
22 episodes - 2022
Season 25
13 episodes - 2024
Season 26
22 episodes - 2024
Season 27
13 episodes - 2025
