Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

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.

Seasons

28

Episodes aired

594

Latest aired

S27E21

Total runtime

17d 16h

Timeline when each season aired

1. Season 1 September 1999 – May 2000 22 episodes
2. Season 2 October 2000 – May 2001 21 episodes
3. Season 3 September 2001 – May 2002 23 episodes
4. Season 4 September 2002 – May 2003 25 episodes
5. Season 5 September 2003 – May 2004 25 episodes
6. Season 6 September 2004 – May 2005 23 episodes
7. Season 7 September 2005 – May 2006 22 episodes
8. Season 8 September 2006 – May 2007 22 episodes
9. Season 9 September 2007 – May 2008 19 episodes
10. Season 10 September 2008 – June 2009 22 episodes
11. Season 11 September 2009 – May 2010 24 episodes
12. Season 12 September 2010 – May 2011 24 episodes
13. Season 13 September 2011 – May 2012 23 episodes
14. Season 14 September 2012 – May 2013 24 episodes
15. Season 15 September 2013 – May 2014 24 episodes
16. Season 16 September 2014 – May 2015 23 episodes
17. Season 17 September 2015 – May 2016 23 episodes
18. Season 18 September 2016 – May 2017 21 episodes
19. Season 19 September 2017 – May 2018 24 episodes
20. Season 20 September 2018 – May 2019 24 episodes
21. Season 21 September 2019 – April 2020 20 episodes
22. Season 22 November 2020 – June 2021 16 episodes
23. Season 23 September 2021 – May 2022 22 episodes
24. Season 24 September 2022 – May 2023 22 episodes
25. Season 25 January 2024 – May 2024 13 episodes
26. Season 26 October 2024 – May 2025 22 episodes
27. Season 27 September 2025 – May 2026 21 episodes
28. Season 28 October 2026 1 episode

• 

  S01E01 Payback

  September 20 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  Detectives Stabler and Benson investigate the murder and dismemberment of a taxi driver; the team discovers that he may have been a vicious Serbian war criminal living in the United States under a false identity.

• 

  S01E02 A Single Life

  September 27 · 43min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  Benson and Stabler run into multiple dead ends while investigating the case of a woman who plummeted six stories to her death clad only in a slip.

• 

  S01E03 ...Or Just Look Like One

  October 4 · 43min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  When a teen model is murdered and another is left for dead at a hospital emergency room, the team uncovers an insidious drug and sex conspiracy in the world of high fashion. Benson and Stabler enter into a modeling underworld of thoughtless parents, drug-dealing doctors and a trendy agency executive.

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  S01E04 Hysteria

  October 11 · 43min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  When a young African-American woman is found dead, she is initially believed to be a prostitute and the latest in a long line of victims, but when looking into her home life Benson and Stabler realize that she does not fit the pattern, and may not be connected to the other deaths after all, but the other deaths have a connection no one anticipated.

• 

  S01E05 Wanderlust

  October 18 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  When a world-traveling author is found dead in a room he rented from an alcoholic woman and her precocious 14-year-old daughter, the detectives are shocked to discover who the murderer is.

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  S01E06 Sophomore Jinx

  October 25 · 43min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  A female student at an upper-class university is raped and murdered, and two of the college's basketball stars are suspected. However, the college blocks their investigation at every turn because they are not willing to risk the negative publicity that the investigation could bring to the school and the upcoming championship.

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  S01E07 Uncivilized

  November 15 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  When a young boy is found raped and murdered in a field, suspicion leads detectives to a recently paroled child molester who lives in the neighborhood.. Although they both hate what the man has done in the past, it is soon obvious to the detectives that the teenagers who initially steered them in the man's direction are hiding secrets of their own.

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  S01E08 Stalked

  November 22 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  When an assistant district attorney is found raped and murdered in Central Park, the Special Victims Unit learn that she'd been stalked by a real estate agent whom she'd convicted of date rape. Benson lets her emotions get the best of her as she takes it upon herself to bring the suspected rapist to justice. Stabler tries to get the man's business partner to help him, but Benson may be the one who ends up needing help.

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  S01E09 Stocks & Bondage

  November 29 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  An investment analyst is found hanged in her bedroom, and the Special Victims Unit explores her sordid sexual past to uncover her murderer's identity. The team uncovers the world of bondage and sado-masochism where they first investigate the woman's colleagues but are soon on the trail of a host of individuals involved in the world of whips and chains.

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  S01E10 Closure

  January 7 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  When a woman is raped, she turns to the Special Victims Unit for help, but lack of evidence prevents them from apprehending the criminal. When the detectives revisit the case a few months later, they find the woman even less willing to talk about what happened, as she claims she has moved on. Things turn sticky when Benson and Cassidy spend the night together.

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  S01E11 Bad Blood

  January 14 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  A moral coalition leader's gay son is found murdered on the roof of his apartment building. Initially, Benson and Stabler investigate his father, a Conservative well-known for his homophobic viewpoints, but once they start looking into the young man's living arrangements they realize the person they're looking for may be closer than they think. Munch tries to help Benson find the man who raped her mother, and could potentially be her father.

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  S01E12 Russian Love Poem

  January 21 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  When a multi-millionaire is found strangled in his home, Benson and Stabler turn their suspicion to his long list of lovers, which includes both men and women. Detectives discover he was involved with a group of beautiful Russian women that came to the U.S. to take advantage of wealthy Americans.

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  S01E13 Disrobed

  February 4 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  A judge who fought for the rights of abused women is found shot in his car under sordid circumstances, and the detectives uncover a case of corruption that leads to the state parole board. The team soon turns their eye to a battered wife with a secret.

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  S01E14 Limitations

  February 11 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  At the request of a victim, the police commissioner comes to Cragen with a special request -- close the five-year-old case of a serial rapist before the statute of limitations expires. The detectives finally get a lead but the investigation is hindered by one of the victims.

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  S01E15 Entitled (I)

  February 18 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  After a salesman is murdered, the detectives turn their attention to the youngest daughter of a well-known family with some deep connections. But as they join forces with the officers from the two-seven, they realize that their case is connected with a long-unsolved case that Briscoe once handled years ago with his former partner Mike Logan. The crossover continues in Law & Order S10E14 Entitled (II).

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  S01E16 The Third Guy

  February 25 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  An elderly woman is found tied up and sexually assaulted in her apartment, and suspicion is initially on the young men that had broken into her home and robbed her, but once the detectives are surprised to learn that the rape was committed after the robbery – by someone else.

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  S01E17 Misleader

  March 31 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  The pregnant daughter-in-law of a Christian College president is murdered in her hotel room, and the detectives discover that the man had been involved in some very unholy activities.

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  S01E18 Chat Room

  April 14 · 43min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  When a teenage girl comes into the squad room to tell the detectives that she was raped by a man she met on the Internet, the investigation leads the Special Victims Unit to a network of pedophiles and child pornographers.

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  S01E19 Contact

  April 28 · 42min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  After seven young women in a six month time span are raped by a flash and dash assailant on the city subways, the brass calls in a psychiatrist to help the team get into the head of the perp. When he is caught, he possesses the driver's license of a new victim who could put him away.

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  S01E20 Remorse

  May 5 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  A female television news reporter decides to go public with her story when she attacked and raped by two men, but the decision proves to be fatal.

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  S01E21 Nocturne

  May 12 · 43min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  After a pharmacy turns over some disturbing photos of a young boy, a beloved neighborhood piano teacher is suspected of being a sexual predator who takes advantage of his innocent young students.

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  S01E22 Slaves

  May 21 · 44min find the promo

  Show synopsis

  A Romanian immigrant is being held as a psychological prisoner by her abusive employer and his wife, who is also traumatized by years of abuse and is willing to commit murder to protect her husband. A forensic psychologist analyzes the team, and presents disturbing findings to Cragen, suggesting that one of the detectives be removed from the team.