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- "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 (often abbreviated to Law & Order: SVU or just SVU) is an American police procedural, legal, crime drama television series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced. In the style of the original Law & Order, episodes are often "ripped from the headlines" or loosely based on real crimes that have received media attention. Created by Dick Wolf, the series premiered on NBC on September 20, 1999, as the second series in Wolf's successful Law & Order franchise.
Cast[]
Main Cast and Characters[]
| Image | Actor | Character | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Mariska Hargitay | Detective/Sergeant/ Lieutenant/Captain Olivia Benson |
Seasons 1-present |
 |
Ice-T | Detective/Sergeant Odafin "Fin" Tutuola |
Seasons 2-present |
 |
Peter Scanavino | Detective/Assistant District Attorney Dominick Carisi, Jr. |
Seasons 16-present |
 |
Octavio Pisano | Detective Joe Velasco |
Seasons 23-present |
Previous Cast and Characters[]
| Image | Actor | Character | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Michelle Hurd | Detective Monique Jeffries |
Season 1-2 (Recurring Season 1) |
 |
Adam Beach | Detective Chester Lake |
Season 9 (Recurring Season 8) |
 |
Diane Neal | Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak |
Seasons 5-9 (Recurring Seasons 12-13) |
 |
Michaela McManus | Assistant District Attorney Kimberly "Kim" Greylek |
Season 10 |
 |
Stephanie March | Assistant District Attorney Alexandra "Alex" Cabot |
Seasons 2-5 & 11 (Recurring Seasons 6, 10, 13 & 19) |
 |
Christopher Meloni | Detective Elliot Stabler |
Seasons 1-12 (Recurring Seasons 22-24) |
 |
B.D. Wong | FBI Special Agent George Huang |
Seasons 4-12 (Recurring Seasons 2-3, 13-15 & 17) |
 |
Tamara Tunie | Assistant Medical Examiner Melinda Warner |
Seasons 7-12 (Recurring Seasons 2-6, 13-17, 19, 21-23) |
 |
Richard Belzer | Detective/Sergeant/ DA Investigator John Munch |
Seasons 1-15 (Recurring Seasons 15 & 17) |
 |
Dann Florek | Captain Donald Cragen |
Seasons 1-15 (Recurring Seasons 16 & 23) |
 |
Danny Pino | Detective Nicholas "Nick" Amaro |
Seasons 13-16 (Recurring Season 23) |
 |
Raúl Esparza | Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba |
Seasons 15-19 (Recurring Seasons 14, 21-23) |
 |
Philip Winchester | Assistant District Attorney Peter Stone |
Seasons 19-20 (Recurring Season 19) |
 |
Jamie Gray Hyder | Detective Katriona "Kat" Tamin |
Seasons 21-23 (Recurring Season 21) |
 |
Demore Barnes | Deputy Chief Christian Garland |
Seasons 22-23 (Recurring Season 21) |
 |
Kelli Giddish | Detective Amanda Rollins |
Seasons 13-24 (Recurring Season 25) |
 |
Molly Burnett | Detective Grace Muncy |
Seasons 24 |
Episodes[]
Main article: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes
Seasons[]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired (U.S. dates) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | ||
| 1 | 22 | September 20, 1999 | May 19, 2000 |
| 2 | 21 | October 20, 2000 | May 11, 2001 |
| 3 | 23 | September 28, 2001 | May 17, 2002 |
| 4 | 25 | September 27, 2002 | May 16, 2003 |
| 5 | 25 | September 23, 2003 | May 18, 2004 |
| 6 | 23 | September 21, 2004 | May 24, 2005 |
| 7 | 22 | September 20, 2005 | May 16, 2006 |
| 8 | 22 | September 19, 2006 | May 22, 2007 |
| 9 | 19 | September 25, 2007 | May 13, 2008 |
| 10 | 22 | September 23, 2008 | June 2, 2009 |
| 11 | 24 | September 23, 2009 | May 19, 2010 |
| 12 | 24 | September 22, 2010 | May 18, 2011 |
| 13 | 23 | September 21, 2011 | May 23, 2012 |
| 14 | 24 | September 26, 2012 | May 22, 2013 |
| 15 | 24 | September 25, 2013 | May 21, 2014 |
| 16 | 23 | September 24, 2014 | May 20, 2015 |
| 17 | 23 | September 23, 2015 | May 25, 2016 |
| 18 | 21 | September 21, 2016 | May 24, 2017 |
| 19 | 24 | September 27, 2017 | May 23, 2018 |
| 20 | 24 | September 27, 2018 | May 16, 2019 |
| 21 | 20 | September 26, 2019 | April 23, 2020 |
| 22 | 16 | November 12, 2020 | June 3, 2021 |
| 23 | 22 | September 23, 2021 | May 19, 2022 |
| 24 | 22 | September 22, 2022 | May 18, 2023 |
| 25 | 13 | January 18, 2024 | May 16, 2024 |
Gallery[]
Season 12
Season 13
Season 14
Season 15
Season 16
Season 17
Season 18
Season 19
Season 20
Season 21
Season 22
Season 23
Season 24