A twenty-third season for the police procedural drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was ordered on February 27, 2020. It premiered on September 23, 2021 with a two part premiere episode and concluded on May 19, 2022. This season contains the 500th episode of the series, which saw the return of Danny Pino as Nick Amaro and Dann Florek as Donald Cragen. It is the last season to star Jamie Gray Hyder as Katriona Tamin and Demore Barnes as Christian Garland, with both cast members departing the series in the premiere episodes. It is also the first season to star Octavio Pisano as Joe Velasco, who joined the main cast in the seventh episode of the season. It is the final season to feature Warren Leight as showrunner. It aired alongside season twenty-one of Law & Order and season two of Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
| Image | Character | Title | Actor |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Olivia Benson | Captain (Commanding Officer) | Mariska Hargitay |
|
Amanda Rollins | Detective (Senior Officer) | Kelli Giddish |
|
Odafin Tutuola | Sergeant (Senior Officer) | Ice-T |
|
Dominick Carisi, Jr. | Assistant district attorney | Peter Scanavino |
|
Katriona Tamin (23.01–02) | Detective (Junior Officer) | Jamie Gray Hyder |
|
Christian Garland (23.01–02) | Deputy Chief (Commanding Officer) | Demore Barnes |
|
Joe Velasco (23.07-) | Detective (Junior Officer) | Octavio Pisano |
Recurring/Guest Cast[]
| Image | Character | Title | Actor |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Elliot Stabler | Detective (Senior Police), Organized Crime Control Bureau (O.C.C.B) | Christopher Meloni |
|
Ayanna Bell | Sergeant, Organized Crime Control Bureau (O.C.C.B) | Danielle Moné Truitt |
|
Jet Slootmaekers | Detective/Technology Expert, Organized Crime Control Bureau (O.C.C.B) | Ainsley Seiger |
|
Nick Amaro | Geneticist | Danny Pino |
|
Donald Cragen | Former Captain | Dann Florek |
|
Melinda Warner | Chief Medical examiner | Tamara Tunie |
|
Richard Wheatley | Businessman, Criminal | Dylan McDermott |
|
Rafael Barba | Defense Attorney | Raúl Esparza |
|
Angela Wheatley | Math Professor | Tamara Taylor |
|
|
Christian Garland | Deputy Chief (Commanding Officer) | Demore Barnes |
List of Episodes[]
| Previous season: Season 22 |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 23 |
Next season: Season 24 |