Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Alternate Title(s)	L&O: SVU, SVU, Special Victims Unit, Sex Crimes
Format	Crime Drama Police procedural
Picture Format	480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV)
Running Time	40–45 minutes
Created by	Dick Wolf
Starring	See below
Narrated By	Steven Zirnkilton
Opening Theme	by Mike Post
Country of origin	United States
Language	English
Original channel	NBC
Original run	20 September 1999
Finale
No. of seasons	22
No. of episodes	490 (As of present)
List of episodes	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes
IMDB profile	Law & Order: SVU
TV.com summary	Law & Order: SVU
related shows	Law & Order franchise

"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."

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is a crime drama television series aired on NBC that premiered on September 20, 1999. Created and produced by Dick Wolf, the series premiered on NBC on September 20, 1999, as the first spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama, Law & Order.

The Special Victims Unit is located in the 16th Precinct of the New York City Police Department and focuses on victims of sexual crimes, such as rape, pedophilia, and domestic abuse, as well as cases involving children, the handicapped and elderly victims of non-sexual crimes who require specialist handling from the unit. Its stories also touch on the political and societal issues associated with gender identity, sexual preferences, and equality rights.

As with the original Law & Order, episodes are often loosely based on real crimes that have received media attention or as the franchise calls it "ripped from the headlines".

As of April 22, 2021, the series has aired 490 episodes.

On February 27, 2020, the show was renewed for three additional seasons, with the twenty-second season premiering on November 12, 2020. It is the longest-running primetime drama series in history, as well as the longest-running series in the Law & Order franchise.

On March 31, 2020, NBC announced that it had ordered a spin-off series titled Law & Order: Organized Crime, which premiered on April 1, 2021. Christopher Meloni reprising his role as Elliot Stabler and the series is produced by Dick Wolf. The series centers around an organized crime taskforce with Stabler as a member of the unit.

For a list of episodes, see Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes.

Main Cast

Current Cast and Characters

Image	Actor	Character	Seasons
	Mariska Hargitay	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Captain (promoted from Junior to Senior Detective, later promoted to Sergeant, then Lieutenant and finally Captain) Olivia Benson	Seasons 1-present
	Kelli Giddish	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Police Detective Second Grade Amanda Rollins	Seasons 13-present
	Ice-T	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Police Sergeant (promoted from Detective) Odafin Tutuola	Seasons 2-present
	Peter Scanavino	New York City, Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Sex Crimes Bureau Assistant District Attorney (A.D.A.) Dominick Carisi, Jr., promoted from New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Junior Police Detective First Grade	Seasons 16-present
	Jamie Gray Hyder	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Junior Police Detective Katriona Tamin	Seasons 21-present
	Demore Barnes	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Deputy Chief Christian Garland	Seasons 22-present

Previous Cast and Characters

Image	Actor	Character	Seasons
	Michelle Hurd	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit / Vice, Junior Police Detective Monique Jeffries	Season 1-2 (Recurring Season 1)
	Adam Beach	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Brooklyn / Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Junior Police Detective Chester Lake	Season 9 (Recurring Season 8)
	Diane Neal	New York City, Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Sex Crimes Bureau Assistant District Attorney (A.D.A.) Casey Novak	Seasons 5-9 (Recurring Seasons 12-13)
	Michaela McManus	New York City, Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Sex Crimes Bureau Assistant District Attorney (A.D.A.) Kimberly "Kim" Greylek	Season 10
	Stephanie March	New York City, Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Sex Crimes Bureau Assistant District Attorney (A.D.A.) Alexandra Cabot	Seasons 2-5, 11 (Recurring Seasons 10, 13) (Guest Seasons 6, 19)
	Christopher Meloni	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Senior Police Detective Elliot Stabler	Seasons 1-12 (Guest Season 22)
	B.D. Wong	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) contracted Forensic Sex Crimes Psychiatrist Doctor, FBI Special Agent George Huang	Seasons 4-12 (Recurring Seasons 2-3) (Guest Seasons 13-15, 17, 22)
	Tamara Tunie	New York City NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner (O.C.M.E.), Assistant Medical Examiner (M.E.) Doctor Melinda Warner	Seasons 7-12 (Recurring Seasons 2-6, 13-17, 22) (Guest Seasons 19, 21)
	Richard Belzer	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Senior Police Detective (later promoted to Sergeant) / Manhattan District Attorney's Office, District Attorney Investigation Unit John Munch	Seasons 1-15 (Guest Seasons 15, 17)
	Dann Florek	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Police Captain Donald "Don" Cragen	Seasons 1-15 (Guest Season 16)
	Danny Pino	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 16th Precinct, Manhattan Special Victims Unit (S.V.U.), Police Detective Second Grade Nick Amaro	Seasons 13-16
	Raúl Esparza	New York City, Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Sex Crimes Bureau Assistant District Attorney (A.D.A.) Rafael Barba	Seasons 15-19 (Recurring Season 14) (Guest Seasons 21-22
	Philip Winchester	New York City, Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Sex Crimes Bureau Assistant District Attorney (A.D.A.) Peter Stone	Seasons 19-20 (Guest Season 19)

Crossover Guest Stars

Image	Actor	Character	Seasons
	Jerry Orbach	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) 27th Precinct, Manhattan, Homicide Squad, Senior Police Detective Leonard W. "Lennie" Briscoe	(Recurring Season 1)
	Jesse L. Martin	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D) 27th Precinct, Manhattan, Homicide Squad, Junior Police Detective Edward "Ed" Green	(Recurring Season 1)
	Steven Hill	New York City, Manhattan District Attorney (D.A.) Adam Schiff	(Guest Season 1)
	Carolyn McCormick	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) / Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Psychologist Doctor Elizabeth Olivet	(Recurring Season 2 and 19) (Guest Seasons 1, 14)
	Sam Waterston	New York City, Manhattan Executive Assistant District Attorney (E.A.D.A.) / District Attorney (D.A.) John James "Jack" McCoy	(Guest Seasons 1, 9, 11, and 19)
	Dianne Wiest	New York City, Manhattan Interim District Attorney (D.A.) Nora Lewin	(Guest Seasons 3-4)
	Fred Dalton Thompson	New York City, Manhattan District Attorney (D.A.) Arthur Branch	(Guest Season 4) (Recurring Seasons 5-7)
	Skeet Ulrich	Los Angeles Police Department (L.A.P.D) Robbery-Homicide Division Senior Police Detective Rex Winters	(Guest Season 12)
	Terrence Howard	New York City Defense Attorney Jonah "Joe" Dekker	(Guest Season 12)
	Linus Roache	New York City, Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Sex Crimes Bureau, Bureau Chief Assistant District Attorney (B.C.-A.D.A.) Michael "Mike" Cutter	(Recurring Season 13)
	Kathryn Erbe	New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) One Police Plaza, Manhattan, Major Case Squad (M.C.S.) Lieutenant Alexandra Eames	(Recurring Season 14)
	Alana De La Garza	New York City, United States Department of Justice, Assistant U.S.Attorney (A.U.S.A.) Consuela "Connie" Rubirosa	(Guest Season 15)
	Annabella Sciorra	New York City, Major Case Squad, Bronx Special Victims Unit Lieutenant Carolyn Barek	(Guest Season 22)

Recurring Guest Stars

For a list of recurring characters, see SVU recurring characters.

External Links

• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit at NBC
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit at Wikipedia
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Episode Guide at Wikipedia
• Law & Order: SVU at NBC Wiki (Fandom)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit at Chicago Franchise Wikia