The thirteenth season of the police procedural drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on NBC on September 21, 2011 and concluded on May 23, 2012. The season consists of 23 episodes. This season differed greatly from previous seasons, with mostly new writers, a new showrunner, and brighter lighting. It was also notable for being the first season not to include Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler, the first season to include Kelli Giddish as Amanda Rollins and Danny Pino as Nick Amaro as well as the first season to feature Warren Leight as showrunner and the last season to include Diane Neal as Casey Novak. This was also the first season in which SVU was broadcast without any other running U.S. Law & Order franchise show. This lasted until Season 19 when Law & Order True Crime premiered.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
| Image | Character | Title | Actor |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Olivia Benson | Detective (Senior Officer) | Mariska Hargitay |
|
Nick Amaro | Detective (Junior Officer) | Danny Pino |
|
Amanda Rollins | Detective (Junior Officer) | Kelli Giddish |
|
John Munch | Sergeant (Senior Officer) | Richard Belzer |
|
Odafin Tutuola | Detective (Senior Officer) | Ice-T |
|
Donald Cragen | Captain (Commanding Officer) | Dann Florek |
Recurring/Guest Cast[]
| Image | Character | Title | Actor |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Alexandra Cabot | Assistant District Attorney | Stephanie March |
|
Casey Novak | Assistant District Attorney | Diane Neal |
|
George Huang | FBI Special Agent | B.D. Wong |
|
Melinda Warner | Medical Examiner | Tamara Tunie |
 |
Michael Cutter | Bureau Chief Assistant District Attorney | Linus Roache |
List of Episodes[]
| Previous season: Season 12 |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 13 |
Next season: Season 14 |