Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (or Law & Order: SVU) is an American television drama that aired on Syndication since September 20, 1999. This was a spin-off series of Law & Order.

The series has spawned five spin-off series are Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, Law & Order: LA, Law & Order True Crime and Law & Order: Organized Crime.

On March 29, 2019, Syndication renewed "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" for a record-breaking 21st season, making it the longest-running primetime live action TV series in history.

Summary

Based out of the New York City Police Department's 16th precinct in Manhattan, New York, the show delves into the dark side of the New York underworld as the detectives of a new elite force, the Special Victims Unit (SVU for short), investigate and prosecute various sexually-oriented crimes including rape, pedophilia, and domestic violence. They also investigate the abuses of children, the handicapped and elderly victims of non-sexual crimes who require specialist handling.

All the while trying to balance the effects of the investigation on their own lives. Its stories also touch on the political and societal issues associated with gender identity, sexual preferences and equality rights.

While the victim is often murdered, this is not always the case and victims frequently play prominent roles in episodes.

The unit also works with the Manhattan District Attorney's office as they prosecute cases and seek justice for SVU's victims and survivors with precision and a passion to win and bring closure to the intense investigations.

The series often uses stories that are "ripped from the headlines" or based on real crimes and such episodes take a real crime and fictionalize it by changing some details.

Cast

Main (Current)

Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson (season 1-current)
Ice-T as Sergeant Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (season 2-current)
Peter Scanavino as A.D.A. Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, Jr. (season 16-current)
Octavio Pisano as Detective Joe Velasco (season 23-current)

Past Main Cast

Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler (season 1-12, recurring season 22-24)
Richard Belzer as Detective (later Sergeant) John Munch (season 1-15, guest season 15, 17)
Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen (season 1-15, guest season 16, 23)
Michelle Hurd as Detective Monique Jeffries (season 1-2, recurring season 1)
Adam Beach as Detective Chester Lake (season 9, recurring season 8)
Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro (season 13-16, guest season 23)
Stephanie March as ADA Alexandra Cabot (season 2-5 and 11, recurring season 10, 13 and guest season 6, 19)
Diane Neal as Senior ADA Casey Novak (season 5-9, recurring season 13, guest season 12)
Michaela McManus as ADA Kim Greylek (season 10)
B.D. Wong as FBI Special Agent George Huang (season 4-12, recurring season 2-3, guest season 13-15, 17)
Tamara Tunie as Chief M.E. Melinda Warner (season 7-12, recurring season 2-6 and season 13-17, 22, guest season 19, 21, 23)
Raúl Esparza as ADA Rafael Barba (season 15-19, recurring season 14, 23 and guest season 21-22)
Philip Winchester as ADA Peter Stone (season 19-20, guest season 19)
Jamie Gray Hyder as Detective Katriona "Kat" Tamin (season 21-23, recurring season 21)
Demore Barnes as Deputy Chief Christian Garland (season 22-23, recurring season 21, guest season 23)
Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins (season 13-24; recurring season 25)

Police Personnel (Recurring)

Mike Doyle as Detective Ryan O'Halloran (season 5-10)
Joel De La Fuente as Lieutenant Ruben Morales (season 4-12)
Caren Browning as Captain Judith Siper (season 4-12)
Dean Winters as Detective Brian Cassidy (season 1-20)
Robert John Burke as Captain Edward 'Ed' Tucker (season 3-21)
Terry Serpico as Chief Thomas 'Tommy' McGrath (season 22-25)
Peter Gallagher as Deputy Chief William Dodds (season 16-21)
Kevin Kane as Detective Terrence 'Terry' Bruno (season 24-25)
Andy Karl as Sergeant Michael 'Mike' Dodds (season 17)
Jasmine Batchelor as Officer Tonie Churlish (season 24)
Chris Orbach as Detective Kenneth 'Ken' Briscoe (season 1)
Josh Pais as Deputy Commissioner Hank Abraham (season 15-17)
Donal Logue as Captain Declan Murphy (season 15-23)
John Schuck as Chief of Detectives Muldrew (season 6-11)
Caris Vujcec as Detective Louise Campesi (season 15-23)
Myk Watford as Captain Sam Reynolds (season 13-16)
Ar'iel Stachel as Sergeant Hasim Khaldun (season 21-23)
Connie Nielsen as Detective Danielle 'Dani' Beck (season 8)
Michael Potts as Sergeant Cole Draper (season 14-17)
Jennifer Esposito as Sergeant Phoebe Baker (season 20-22)
Dashiell Eaves as Sergeant Kevin Donlan (season 15-17)
Vincent Spano as Agent Dean Porter (season 8-11)
Adrian Alvarado as Detective Ray Fernandez (season 22-24)
Maurice Compte as Captain Mike Duarte (season 24)
Marcia Gay Harden as Agent Dana Lewis (season 7-14)
Scott William Winters as Detective Robert Dumas (season 13-17)
Aime Donna Kelly as Captain Renee Curry (season 22-25)
Noel Fisher as Dale Stuckey (season 10)
Kirk Acevedo as Detective Raymond 'Ray' Lopez (season 18)
Nicholas Turturro as Detective Frank Bucci (season 20-21)
Cyndee Rivera as Detective Mia Ruz (season 22-23)
Jason Biggs as Detective Andy Parlato-Goldstein (season 23)
Cathy Moriarty as Captain Toni Howard (season 14-15)
Adam Baldwin as Captain Steven Harris (season 14)
Edie Salas Miller as Officer Tiffany Gomez (season 25)
Jordana Spiro as FBI Agent Shannah Sykes (season 25)

Attorneys (Recurring)

Peter Hermann as Defense Attorney Trevor Langan (season 3-23)
Ned Eisenberg as Defense Attorney Roger Kressler (season 3-20)
Jenna Stern as Defense Attorney Elana Barth (season 13-23)
Jill Marie Lawrence as Defense Attorney Cleo Conrad (season 3-9)
Elizabeth Marvel as Defense Attorney Rita Calhoun (season 14-22)
Delaney Williams as Defense Attorney John Buchanan (season 11-21)
Melissa Sagemiller as A.D.A. Gillian Hardwicke (season 12)
Steve Rosen as Defense Attorney Michael Guthrie (season 13-20)
David Thornton as Defense Attorney Lionel Granger (season 5-11)
Betty Buckley as Trial Division Chief Lorraine Maxwell (season 23-24)
Tony Campisi as Defense Attorney Steve Roth (season 13-23)
Lou Martini, Jr. as Defense Attorney Ron Freddo (season 21-25)
Michael Kostroff as Defense Attorney Evan Braun (season 13-22)
Callie Thorne as Defense Attorney Nikki Staines (season 5-23)
Jessica Phillips as Defense Attorney Pippa Cox (season 14-22)
Zuleikha Robinson as Bureau Chief Vanessa Hadid (season 21)
Jason Cerbone as Defense Attorney Lorenzo Desappio (season 14-17)
Tabitha Holbert as A.D.A. Rose Callier (season 13-18)
Joseph Lyle Taylor as Defense Attorney Mickey D'Angelo (season 16-23)
Christine Lahti as E.A.D.A. Sonya Paxton (season 11-12)
Peter Riegert as Defense Attorney Chauncey Zeirko (season 5-9)
Erin Anderson as Defense Attorney April Andrews (season 21-25)
Viola Davis as Defense Attorney Donna Emmett (season 5-10)
Michael Boatman as Defense Attorney Dave Seaver (season 5-12)
Kadia Saraf as Assistant U.S. Attorney Anya Avital (season 23-24)
Andre Braugher as Defense Attorney Bayard Ellis (season 13-16)
Beverly D'Angelo as Defense Attorney Rebecca Balthus (season 5-9)
Ron Rifkin as Defense Attorney Marvin Exley (season 13-16)
Mariette Hartley as Defense Attorney Lorna Scarry (season 4-12)
Mouzam Makkar as Defense Attorney Dara Miglani (season 19-23)
Francie Swift as Defense Attorney Sherri West (season 12-13)
J.C. MacKenzie as Defense Attorney Richard Pace (season 17-24)
Reg E. Cathey as Defense Attorney Barry Querns (season 13-14)
Jeffrey Shechter as Defense Attorney Art Blumfeld (season 21-25)
Barry Bostwick as Defense Attorney Oliver Gates (season 5-8)
Harry Connick, Jr. as E.A.D.A. David Haden (season 13)
Sharon Stone as A.D.A. Jo Marlowe (season 11)
Nia Vardalos as Defense Attorney Minonna Efron (season 14-24)
Greg Germann as Defense Attorney Derek Strauss (season 14-18)
Robbie Williams as Defense Attorney Mason Carter (season 24-25)
Richard Kind as Defense Attorney William Biegel (season 19-20)
Gretchen Egolf as Defense Attorney Kendra Gill (season 10-13)
Jeffrey Tambor as Defense Attorney Lester Cohen (season 14-15)
Alex Kingston as Defense Attorney Miranda Pond (season 10-12)
Susie Essman as Defense Attorney Arlene Heller (season 16-19)
Annie Potts as Defense Attorney Sophie Devere (season 7-9)
Ron Leibman as E.A.D.A. Stan Villani (season 3)
Kurt Fuller as Defense Attorney Jed Karey (season 19-20)
Teagle F. Bougere as Bureau Chief Phillip Baptiste (season 23)
Glenn Fleshler as Defense Attorney Myron Gold (season 23)

Judges (Recurring)

Joanna Merlin as Lena Petrovsky (season 2-12)
Stephen C. Bradbury as Colin McNamara (season 13-24)
Michael Mastro as D. Serani (season 13-24)
Judith Light as Elizabeth Donnelly (season 4-12)
Audrie Neenan as Lois Preston (season 3-12)
Ami Brabson as Karyn Blake (season 13-25)
Tom O'Rourke as Mark Seligman (season 2-7)
Harvey Atkin as Alan Ridenour (season 1-12)
Peter McRobbie as Walter Bradley (season 5-14)
Aida Turturro as Felicia Catano (season 14-24)
Joe Grifasi as Hashi Horowitz (season 7-23)
David Lipman as Arthur Cohen (season 3-10)
John Cullum as Barry Moredock (season 5-12)
Jayne Houdyshell as Ruth Linden (season 3-19)
Patricia Kalember as Karen Taten (season 6-12)
Sonia Manzano as Gloria Pepitone (season 14-21)
Sheila Tousey as Danielle Larsen (season 4-6)
Tonye Patano as Linda Maskin (season 10-23)
Vincent Curatola as Al Bertuccio (season 16-21)
Olga Merediz as Roberta Martinez (season 18-22)
Philip Bosco as Joseph P. Terhune (season 4-8)
John Rothman as Edward Kofax (season 15-20)
Marlo Thomas as Mary Clark (season 5)

Medical Examiners (Recurring)

Karen Tsen Lee as M.E. Susan Chung (season 13-17)
Frank Wood as M.E. Abel Truman (season 22-25)
Lance Reddick as Assistant M.E. Taylor (season 1-2)

Family Members (Recurring)

Ryan Buggle as Noah Porter-Benson (season 15-25)
Isabel Gillies as Kathleen Marie 'Kathy' Stabler (season 1-22)
Jeffrey Scaperrotta as Richard 'Dickie' Stabler (season 1-23)
Allison Siko as Kathleen Stabler (season 1-23)
Patricia Cook as Elizabeth Stabler (season 1-8)
Erin Broderick as Maureen Stabler (season 1-8)
Charlotte Cabell as Jesse Murphy-Rollins (season 17-25)
Ernest Waddell as Kwasi 'Ken' Randall (season 6-22)
Alison Fernandez as Zara Amaro (season 13-16)
Laura Benanti as Maria Grazie (season 13-15)
Lindsay Pulshiper as Kim Rollins (season 14-21)
Michael Weston as Simon Marsden (season 8-21)
Migs Govea as Alejandro Pavel (season 13-22)
Nancy Ticotin as Cesaria Amaro (season 13-16)
Trian Long Smith as Lamai Garland (season 21-23)
Amy Korb as Pamela 'Pam' Stone (season 19)
Ryann Shane as Mia Morino (season 19-23)
Uschi Umaschied as Abby Garland (season 21-22)
James Morrison as James 'Jim' Rollins (season 21-22)

Other

Bill Irwin as Dr. Peter Lindstrom (season 15-23)
Bronwyn Reed as Lucy Huston (season 16-18)
Pablo Schreiber as William Lewis (season 14-15)
Charlayne Woodard as Sister Peg (season 3-12)
Linda Emond as Dr. Emily Sopher (season 5-23)
Leslie Odom, Jr. as Reverend Curtis Scott (season 15-17)
Jefferson Mays as Deputy Chief M.E. Carl Rudnick (season 16-17)
Dallas Roberts as Dr. Gregory William Yates (season 16-17)
Peter Jacobson as Bart Ganzel (season 13-14)
Mary Stuart Masterson as Dr. Rebecca Hendrix (season 6-8)
Brooke Shields as Sheila Porter (season 19)
Robin De Jesus as Jose Silva (season 13-17)
Sarah Storm as Bronwyn Freed Wilkins (season 15-17)
Titus Welliver as Rob Miller (season 20)
George Newbern as Dr. Al Pollack (season 20)
Charlie Tahan as Calvin Arliss (season 12-13)
Jamila Velaquez as Pilar Morenas (season 14-16)
Carrie Kim as Celine Tatou (season 22-23)
Jeremy Irons as Dr. Captain 'Cap' Jackson (season 12)
Zabryna Guevara as Dr. Catalina Machado (season 22-23)
Aidan Quinn as Burton Lowe (season 23)
Ben Rappaport as Congressman George Justin Howard (season 23)
Goya Robles as Oscar Papa (season 24)
Rigo Garay as Hector 'Sacrilege' Suarez (season 24)
Marc Rivera as Albert 'Fugazi' Diaz (season 24)
Adam Lindo as Benny Barros (season 24)
Allison Elaine as Maddie Flynn (season 25)
Leslie Fray as Eileen Flynn (season 25)
Zack Robidas as Peter Flynn (season 25)

Crossover

Sam Waterston as D.A. Jack McCoy (guest season 1, 9, 11, 19)
Alana De La Garza as Assistant U.S. Attorney Connie Rubirosa (guest season 15)
Annabella Sciorra as Lieutenant Carolyn Barek (guest season 22)
Jerry Orbach as Detective Lennie Briscoe (recurring season 1)
Angie Harmon as A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael (recurring season 1)
Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green (recurring season 1)
Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet (recurring season 2, 19, guest season 1, 14)
Kathryn Erbe as Lieutenant Alexandra Eames (recurring season 14)
Fred Thompson as DA Arthur Branch (recurring season 5-7, guest season 4)
Linus Roache as Bureau Chief Michael Cutter (recurring season 13)
Terrence Howard as D.D.A. Jonah Dekker (guest season 12)
Skeet Ulrich as Detective Rex Winters (guest season 12)
Sophia Bush as Detective Erin Lindsay (recurring season 16, guest season 15, 17)
Jason Beghe as Sergeant Hank Voight (recurring season 16, guest season 17)
Carl Weathers as State's Attorney Mark Jefferies (guest season 20)
Bebe Neuwirth as Bureau Chief Tracey Kibre (guest season 6)
Kirk Acevedo as DA Investigator Hector Salazar (guest season 6)
Steven Hill as DA Adam Schiff (guest season 1)
Dianne Wiest as Interim DA Nora Lewin (guest season 3-4)
Danielle Moné Truitt as Sergeant Ayanna Bell (recurring season 23; guest season 24)
Ainsley Seiger as Detective Jet Slootmaekers (recurring season 24; guest season 23)
Tamara Taylor as Professor Angela Wheatley (guest season 23)
Dylan McDermott as Richard Wheatley (guest season 23)
Nick Creegan as Richard 'Richie' Wheatley, Jr. (guest season 23)
Jeffrey Donovan as Detective Frank Cosgrove (guest season 24)
Mehcad Brooks as Detective Jalen Shaw (guest season 24)
Camryn Manheim as Lieutenant Kate Dixon (recurring season 24)
Connie Shi as Detective Violet Yee (guest season 24)
Beau Knapp as Mark Sirenko (guest season 24)
Stephanie Gunn as Sam Ellis (guest season 24)
Jaci Calderon as Nicole Merrick (guest season 24)
Brent Antonello as Detective Jamie Whelan (guest season 24)
Rick Gonzalez as Detective Bobby Reyes (guest season 24)
Francois Battiste as Agent Curtis McCrary (guest season 24)
Marc Reign as Junior Suarez (guest season 24)

Seasons overview

Production

Development

The idea for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" originated with the 1986 "preppie murder" case of Robert Chambers, who strangled Jennifer Levin, a woman that he dated and later murdered during what he claimed was consensual "rough sex" in Manhattan's Central Park.

The crime inspired Dick Wolf to write the story for the season one episode of "Law & Order" titled "Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die". However, even after writing the episode, the case continued to haunt Wolf, who wanted to go deeper into the psychology of crimes to examine the role of human sexuality.

The original title of the show was "Sex Crimes", reflecting the sexual nature of the crimes depicted on the show. Initially, there was concern among the producers that, should "Sex Crimes" fail, identifying the new show with the "Law & Order" franchise could hurt the original show.

Additionally, Ted Kotcheff wanted to create a new series that wasn't dependent upon the original series for success. However, Wolf felt that it was important and commercially desirable to have "Law & Order" in the title, and initially proposed the title of the show be "Law & Order: Sex Crimes".

However, Barry Diller (then head of Studios USA) was concerned about the title and it was changed to "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" to reflect the actual unit of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) that handles sexually based offenses that are especially heinous.

The first episode, "Payback", premiered on NBC on September 20, 1999.

Executive producers

Executive producer Neal Baer left Law & Order: SVU as showrunner at the end of season twelve, after eleven years (seasons 2–12) on the show, in order to sign a three-year deal with CBS Studios. Baer was replaced by former "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" showrunner Warren Leight.

In March of 2015, it was announced that Warren Leight signed a three-year deal with Sony Pictures Television, that will allow him to work on SVU one more season, its seventeenth. Leight joined the show in season thirteen.

It was announced on March 10, 2016 that original "Law & Order" veteran producer Rick Eid would take Leight's place as showrunner starting in season 18.

Creator Dick Wolf commented to The Hollywood Reporter, "I'm extremely pleased that Rick had decided to rejoin the family and hope that he will be here for years to come."

During post-production of season 18, following the announcement that "SVU" was renewed for a nineteenth season, it was revealed that Rick Eid departed the series. He will be taking over another Dick Wolf/NBC series, "Chicago P.D.."

It was announced on May 25, 2017 that original "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent "showrunner Michael S. Chernuchin would be reprising his role starting on season nineteen.

Chernuchin was also co-creator and executive producing showrunner of "Chicago Justice", another Wolf-related show that was canceled by NBC at the end of the 2016–17 TV season.

Casting

Casting for the lead characters of "Law & Order: SVU" occurred in the spring of 1999. Dick Wolf (along with officials from NBC and Studios USA) were at the final auditions for the two leads at Rockefeller Center. The last round had been narrowed down to seven finalists.

For the female lead, Detective Olivia Benson, actresses Samantha Mathis, Reiko Aylesworth and Mariska Hargitay were being considered. For the male role, Detective Elliot Stabler, the finalists were Tim Matheson, John Slattery, Nick Chinlund and Christopher Meloni.

Hargitay and Meloni had auditioned in the final round together and, after the actors left, there was a moment of dead silence, after which Wolf blurted out, "Oh well. There's no doubt who we should choose—Hargitay and Meloni."

Wolf believed that the duo had the perfect chemistry together from the first time he saw them together, and they ended up being his first choice. Garth Ancier (then head of NBC Entertainment) agreed and the rest of the panel assembled began voicing their assent.

The first actor to be cast for the show was Dann Florek. Florek had originated the character of Captain Don Cragen in the 1988 pilot for "Law & Order" and played the character for the first three seasons of the show until he was fired on the orders of network executives, who wanted to add female characters to the show's all-male primary cast.

However, Florek maintained a friendly relationship with Wolf and went on to direct three episodes of the original series (as well as to occasionally guest star on the show).

Shortly after Florek reprised his role for "Exiled: A Law & Order Movie", he received a call to be on "Sex Crimes". Initially reluctant, he eventually agreed to star on the show as Cragen on the assurance that he would not be asked to audition for the role.

Shortly after the cancellation of "Homicide: Life on the Street", Richard Belzer heard that Benjamin Bratt had left "Law & Order".

Belzer requested his manager to call Wolf and pitch the idea for Belzer's character from "Homicide", Detective John Munch to become the new partner of Jerry Orbach's character, Detective Lennie Briscoe since they had previously teamed up together in three "Homicide" crossovers.

Wolf loved the idea, but he had already cast Jesse L. Martin as Briscoe's new partner, Detective Ed Green. However, the idea was reconfigured to have Munch on "Law & Order: SVU" instead.

Since the character of Munch was inspired by David Simon's depiction of Detective Sergeant Jay Landsman and developed for Homicide by Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson, the addition of Munch to the cast required the consent of all three.

The appropriate agreements were reached and, while Fontana and Levinson agreed to waive their royalty rights, contracts with Simon required that he be paid royalties for any new show in which Munch is a main character; as a result, Simon receives royalties every time Munch appears in an episode of the show.

Dean Winters was cast as Munch's partner, Brian Cassidy, at the insistence of Belzer. Belzer looked at Winters as a sort of little brother, and told Wolf, "Well, I'll do this new show of yours, SVU, only if you make Dean Winters my partner."

Wolf did make Winters Belzer's partner, but he was contractually obligated to his other show at the time, the HBO drama "Oz". Since the role on "Law & Order: SVU" was only initially meant to be a few episodes, Winters was forced to leave when it was time to film "Oz" again.

Winters returned for the Season 13 finale, "Rhodium Nights", reprising his role as Cassidy. He also appeared (as Cassidy) on the two-part Season 14 premiere "Lost Reputation"/"Above Suspicion." He subsequently became a recurring character into season 15.

The void left by Winters's departure was filled for the remainder of the season by Michelle Hurd as Detective Monique Jeffries, a character who Wolf promised that (despite starting out as a minor character with one scene in the pilot) would eventually develop. Hurd left the show at the beginning of the second season to join the cast of the TV series, "Leap Years".

Munch's permanent partner came in the form of rapper-turned-actor Ice-T, who had previously worked with Wolf on "New York Undercover" and "Exiled".

Ice-T originally agreed to do only four episodes of "Law & Order: SVU", but quickly gained affection for the ensemble nature of the cast. He relocated to New York City before his four-episode contract was up and remained with the show as Munch's permanent partner, Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola.

Initially, the show focused exclusively on the police work of the detectives in the Special Victims Unit of the 16th precinct, with members of the District Attorney's office occasionally appearing as guest roles crossing over from the original "Law & Order".

From season two onwards, the format was changed to be more faithful to the original "Law & Order" concept by including court cases.

Stephanie March had little television experience before being cast on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, nor did she watch much TV. Nevertheless, March was cast as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot at the beginning of season two but still believed that, due to the grim nature of the series, it would be short-lived.

March stayed with the series for three seasons and left when she believed that she had reached the natural conclusion of the character's development. She would later reprise the character as a guest appearance in season six and as a regular character on the short-lived Wolf series, "Conviction" where she was promised more to do.

Diane Neal had previously guest starred on "Law & Order: SVU" in season three before being cast as Cabot's replacement, Casey Novak in the fifth season. Neal remained with the show through the end of season nine, after which she was replaced by Michaela McManus.

March returned to the show in the tenth season (after McManus' departure from the cast) when Neal Baer proposed Cabot receive a character arc to revitalize the second part of the season, which would continue through season eleven.

Tamara Tunie was cast as medical examiner Melinda Warner in season two after working with Wolf previously on "New York Undercover", "Feds" and "Law & Order". She was initially a recurring character, but became a regular character in season seven, and Tunie was added to the opening credits at that time.

When initially cast as Warner, Tunie was appearing as attorney Jessica Griffin on the CBS daytime soap opera "As the World Turns".

From 2000 to 2007 (and again briefly in 2009), she appeared on both series simultaneously. In 2002, Tunie also appeared on the Fox espionage-themed drama series "24" in the recurring role of CTU Acting Director Alberta Green.

BD Wong was asked to film four episodes as Dr. George Huang, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) forensic psychiatrist and criminal profiler on loan to the Special Victims Unit. After his four episodes, he was asked to stay on with the show.

After he starred in "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" and guest starred as Detective Chester Lake in the eighth season, Wolf felt that Adam Beach would be a good addition to the cast and asked him to be a permanent member beginning with the ninth season.

Although Beach felt that the role was a "dream role", the character proved to be unpopular with fans who felt that he was designed to gradually write out either Richard Belzer or Ice-T. Feeling that there were too many police characters on the show, Beach left the show after only one season.

Michaela McManus was originally felt to be too young for the role of an Assistant District Attorney (ADA) before being cast as ADA Kim Greylek in the tenth season. However, McManus (who was months removed from a recurring role on the series "One Tree Hill") remained with the series only half a season before departing for unspecified reasons.

Paula Patton joined the cast as ADA Mikka Von, replacing Stephanie March, but she dropped out after one episode to film "Mission: Impossible Ghost - Protocol" and was replaced by Melissa Sagemiller in the recurring role of ADA Gillian Hardwicke.

Before the end of season twelve, Mariska Hargitay asked for a lighter workload. As a way of writing her out of certain episodes, a plan to have her character promoted to a supervisory role was discussed.

At the end of season twelve, Christopher Meloni left the show, unable to come to terms with his contract. Warren Leight became the new showrunner during this same year and signed on before he knew that Meloni would be leaving the show.

The second major departure to be announced in 2011 was that of BD Wong. On July 17th, Wong announced on Twitter that, "I actually do not return for season 13, I am jumping to Awake! It's awesome!" Wong added, "I don't know if or when I'll be back on SVU! It was amazing to have such a cool job for 11 years and to be a real NY Actor."

Wong reprised his role as Dr. Huang in season 13's episode "Father Dearest." In response to these departures, two new main actors were hired, and several changes were made to the recurring cast.

In June of 2011, it was announced that Kelli Giddish and Danny Pino would join the cast as new series regulars. Weeks later, it was announced that Stephanie March and Diane Neal would be reprising their roles as ADA Alexandra Cabot and ADA Casey Novak, respectively.

The launch of season 13 was marked with a retooling of the show that Warren Leight referred to as "SVU 2.0".

Changes that accompanied this included Tamara Tunie's being bumped from the main cast to a guest starring role and recurring actor Joel de la Fuente's not appearing for the first time since 2002.

Of the latter change, Warren Leight said, "those scenes [which featured Fuente] can be dry" and hired Gilbert Gottfried as a more comedic replacement.

In addition to these changes, Linus Roache became a recurring cast member in his role of Michael Cutter (whom he played on Law & Order"; on "SVU", former Executive ADA Cutter serves as the Bureau Chief for ADAs attached to the Special Victims Unit.

In season 14, Raúl Esparza joined the cast in a recurring capacity as ADA Rafael Barba and prior to the season 15 premiere, Esparza was promoted to a series regular.

Also in season 15, Belzer left the cast in the fifth episode, "Wonderland Story", in which Sgt. Munch retired from the NYPD and took a job in the DA's office as an investigator.

Later on in the season, Captain Cragen announced his departure from the NYPD, which made newly promoted Sgt. Benson the temporary squad commander. In leaving the cast, Florek ended a 400-episode run as Captain Cragen.

In season 16, Peter Scanavino joined the series, first in a recurring role for episodes 1–3 and then promoted to the main cast in episode 5, with Kelli Giddish, Danny Pino, Ice-T and Raúl Esparza no longer appearing in every episode.

On May 20, 2015, it was revealed that Danny Pino would be leaving the cast after the season 16 finale "Surrendering Noah".

In August 2017, it was announced that Philip Winchester would recur in season 19 as ADA Peter Stone (his character from "Chicago P.D." and "Chicago Justice"), who is the son of Benjamin Stone, the first ADA on the original "Law & Order" series.

It was later also announced that Brooke Shields was enlisted to assume a major recurring role starting in season 19.

On February 7, 2018, Raúl Esparza left the series after six seasons and his role was taken over by Winchester. Upon being renewed for its 21st season, it was announced that Winchester would be leaving the series after the 20th season.

In 2019, Jamie Gray Hyder joined the recurring cast before being bumped up to series regular for the following three seasons.

In 2019, Demore Barnes made recurring appearances before being bumped up to series regular after the 21st season. Barnes and Hyder then departed the series ahead of the show's 23rd season.

In 2020, it was announced that Christopher Meloni would be reprising his role as Detective Elliot Stabler in the 22nd season premiere and will be the lead in a new series titled "Law & Order: Organized Crime".

In 2021, Christopher Meloni reprised his role as Detective Elliot Stabler in the 22nd season episode titled "Return Of The Prodigal Son". Isabel Gillies, Allison Siko and Jeffrey Scaperrotta starred beside him. Meloni then went-on to reprise his role in Law & Order: Organized Crime which is on its 4th season currently.

Terry Serpico replaced Barnes' role as Chief Tommy McGrath, whom was temporarily assigned to SVU but ended up staying on the show until the 25th season.

In 2021, the show's 500th episode titled "The Five Hundredth Episode" was released with Danny Pino reprising his role as Nick Amaro, Tamara Tunie reprising her role as Melinda Warner and Dann Florek reprising his role as Donald Cragen.

In 2021, Octavio Pisano replaced Hyder's role as Detective Joe Velasco and became a series regular in the 23rd season's 7th episode.

In 2022, Molly Burnett announced she was joining the cast for the 24th season before being bumped up to series regular after the 7th episode. Burnett only stayed with the show for one season before being replaced by Kevin Kane, who joined the show in the 24th season as Detective Terry Bruno.

In 2022, it was announced that Kelli Giddish would be departing the series as Detective Amanda Rollins in the 9th episode of the 24th season. However, she made regular guest appearances until the 25th season premiere.

Reception

U.S. TV ratings

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on Monday, September 20, 1999. After nine episodes, the show was moved to Friday nights, where it found its audience and following its first and second seasons became a Top 20-overall show, overcoming the "Friday night death slot" phenomenon. Beginning with the season five, the show aired on Tuesdays to compete with Syndication' Judging Amy and Syndication's NYPD Blue. In its later years, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit consistently outperformed Law & Order in the Nielsen ratings for first run episodes until the latter's cancellation in 2010.

In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that SVU's popularity was "atypical: generally slightly more popular in rural areas and the Black Belt, but largely restricted to the eastern half of the country. It's most popular in Albany, N.Y.; least in Colorado and Utah".

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May (with the exception of the second and tenth season), which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

External links

Law & Order (SVU) on Fandom
Law & Order (SVU) on Wikipedia