Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999– )

This show introduces the Special Victims Unit, a new elite squad of NYPD detectives who investigate sexually related crimes.

Creator:

Dick Wolf

Stars:

Mariska Hargitay, Richard Belzer, Dann Florek

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 39 wins & 99 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Mariska Hargitay	...	Detective Olivia Benson (319 episodes, 1999-2013)
Richard Belzer	...	Detective John Munch (319 episodes, 1999-2013)
Dann Florek	...	Captain Donald Cragen (319 episodes, 1999-2013)
Ice-T	...	Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola (296 episodes, 2000-2013)
Christopher Meloni	...	Detective Elliot Stabler (272 episodes, 1999-2011)
BD Wong	...	Dr. George Huang (228 episodes, 2001-2013)
Tamara Tunie	...	Dr. Melinda Warner (212 episodes, 2000-2013)

Storyline

This show delves into the dark side of the New York underworld as the detectives of a new elite force, the Special Victims Unit, investigate and prosecute various sexually oriented crimes, while trying to balance the effects of the investigation on their own lives.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | victim | rape | new york city | rape victim | 

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Taglines:

Where Risks are Taken

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Five [UK] NBC [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Law & Order's Sex Crimes

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Studios USA Television, NBC Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Two years before joining the cast as a series regular, Diane Neal appeared in an episode playing a woman accused of raping a male stripper.

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Quotes

Capt. Donald Cragen: My wife was on an Orlando turnaround as a flight attendant, and I was home, scrubbing algae off the tiles around the swimming pool that we never used, the one that got me into hot water with Internal Affairs, because 'what's a cop doing with an in-ground pool", right?, and then the phone rang, the call she always expected, always dreaded.

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Crazy Credits

From the second episode of the second season (2000-2001), the opening credits break the pattern followed by the earlier episodes of SVU, the original Law & Order, and Criminal Intent. Instead of the credits ending with a shot of the cast walking towards the camera, they instead are shown sitting around a desk.

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Connections

Referenced in The Nostalgia Critic: Heavy Metal (2012)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Not Driving Anymore"
(remix)
Written and Performed by Rob Dougan

User Reviews

Best one in the L&O Franchise

I have never one been that big of a fan of the original Law & Order. I would watch it for time to time and it was an alright show but never really had anything jump out at me to make it one of my can't miss shows. Then this show came on. I watched this show when it premiered back in 1999 and was impressed from the get go. Sure it followed the basic premise of it's original cousin but was much more loose on it's format and execution. Some episodes hardly ever involve the court room at all where the original week in week out follows a distinct pattern. First half hour is the law then the next is the order. This show although does sometimes follow the same pattern like i mentioned it is much more loose in how it executes it. Mariska Hartigay is excellent as her portrayal of Det. Olivia Benson. The whole cast as a whole is magnificent. Now I know a lot of people will disagree with me that this show is in no way better than the original but for me it is. It has given me something that the original never did.