Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
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| Genre |
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| Created by | Dick Wolf |
| Showrunners |
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| Starring |
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| Narrated by | Steven Zirnkilton |
| Theme music composer | Mike Post |
| Opening theme | "Theme of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" |
| Composer | Mike Post |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 26 |
| No. of episodes | 573 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 40–44 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 20, 1999 – present |
| Related | |
| Law & Order franchise | |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (often shortened to Law & Order: SVU or SVU) is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Dick Wolf for NBC. The first spin-off of Law & Order, expanding it into the Law & Order franchise, it stars Mariska Hargitay as Detective (ultimately promoted to Captain) Olivia Benson, now the commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit after originally having been Stabler's partner in a fictionalized version of the New York City Police Department, and Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler (until Meloni left the series in 2011 after 12 seasons).[1][2] Law & Order: Special Victims Unit follows the detectives of the Special Victims Unit as they investigate and prosecute sex-based crimes. Some of the episodes are loosely based on real crimes that have received media attention.
The series, produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, premiered on September 20, 1999. After the premiere of its 21st season in September 2019, the series became the longest-running primetime live-action series on American television.[3] Since the end of the original run of the main Law & Order series in 2010, SVU is the only live-action primetime series having debuted in the 1990s to remain in continuous production.[b] The 23rd season premiered on September 23, 2021,[4] during which the show aired its milestone 500th episode.[5][6] As of May 15, 2025, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has aired 573 original episodes, well surpassing the episode count of the original Law & Order series. In terms of all-time episode count for a primetime scripted series, SVU now ranks fourth behind The Simpsons (with 785 episodes), Gunsmoke (with 635 episodes), and Lassie (with 591 episodes).[6] The 25th season premiered on January 18, 2024,[7][8] and on March 21, 2024, NBC announced that it had renewed the series for its 26th season, which premiered on October 3, 2024.[9][10] In May 2025, the series was renewed for a 27th season, which will premiere on September 25, 2025.
The series has received 108 award nominations, winning 59 awards. Hargitay was the first and only regular cast member on any Law & Order series to win an Emmy Award when she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - NBC.com". Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ Seidman, Robert. "NBC Signs Kelli Giddish (Chase) and Danny Pino (Cold Case) as New Detectives for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ^ "Law & Order: SVU is now officially TV's longest-running primetime live-action series". News. March 29, 2019. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
- ^ Petski, Denise (July 15, 2021). "NBC Sets Fall Premiere Dates: New 'Ordinary Joe', 'La Brea', Returning 'Chicago', 'Law & Order'; 'The Blacklist' Moves To Thursdays". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ Lawler, Kelly (October 21, 2021). "Spoiler alert! 'Law & Order: SVU' 500th episode dives into Benson's past, as former stars return". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ a b Roots, Kimberly (October 21, 2021). "Law & Order: SVU Episode 500 Recap: You've Come a Long Way, Benson". TV Line. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ Roots, Kimberly (April 10, 2023). "Law & Order, SVU and Organized Crime Renewed at NBC". TVLine. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 20, 2023). "NBC Sets Midseason 2024 Premiere Dates". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
- ^ Tourangeau, Ariana (October 3, 2024). "How to watch 'Law & Order: SVU' season 26 premiere for free". MassLive. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ White, Peter (March 21, 2024). "Law & Order & Law & Order: SVU Renewed At NBC, Law & Order: Organized Crime In Limbo". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 21, 2024.