Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 

The Special Victims Unit, a specially trained squad of detectives in the NYPD, investigate sexually related crimes.

Creator:

Dick Wolf

Stars:

Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice-T

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 49 wins & 141 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Mariska Hargitay	...	Olivia Benson 434 episodes, 1999-2018
Ice-T	...	Odafin Tutuola 412 episodes, 2000-2018
Dann Florek	...	Donald Cragen 331 episodes, 1999-2015
Richard Belzer	...	John Munch 326 episodes, 1999-2016
Christopher Meloni	...	Elliot Stabler 272 episodes, 1999-2011
BD Wong	...	Dr. George Huang 230 episodes, 2001-2015
Tamara Tunie	...	Dr. Melinda Warner 222 episodes, 2000-2018

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

victim | detective | new york city | justice | investigation | 

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Taglines:

Not every case is black and white.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Channel 5 [UK] NBC [United States]

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, Universal Network Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the actors on the show previously starred on the HBO drama Oz (1997) including Dean Winters and BD Wong. Most notable, and ironic, is Christopher Meloni (Detective Elliot Stabler) who played a sadistic rapist and murderer on Oz, and then hunted them on this show. In addition, many guest stars have also appeared in this show and Oz. Reg E. Cathey has the same last name of "Querns" in both shows. Kirk Acevedo, J.K. Simmons (as Emil Skoda), Michael Potts, Lee Tergesen, Kathryn Erbe, Harold Perrineau, Robert John Burke (as Lieutenant Tucker), Scott William Winters (Dean Winters brother who has played a police officer), R.E. Rodgers, as well as many other cast members have appeared on both television programs.

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Goofs

The series is ostensibly based on the NYPD's Special Victims Division, but the SVD wasn't established until 2003, four years after the series premiered.

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Quotes

Det. Elliot Stabler: [to Fin during a card game] What's your favorite kind of torture?

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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 Late Night with Seth Meyers: Hoda Kotb/Pedro Pascal/Tahereh Mafi/Allison Miller (2016)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Best cop show on TV

This is absolutely the best cop show on TV. There's less time in the court room and more with the detectives, which I enjoy. I think there needs to be more time with the detectives off the job. My favorite detective is Olivia Benson, the child of a rape who is played by Mariska Hargitay.Olivia is one of those detectives who would be really awesome if you knew her well, but you wouldn't want to get on her bad side. She is also very stubborn. She and Elliot Stabler (a family man played by Christopher Meloni) make a great team. Christopher and Mariska are great actors. I often forget that these are actors, not real people. I think Olivia should have a boyfriend. It might help her stop being so stubborn. This is just the best cop show ever to be on TV and I hope it stays on for a long time.