Law & Order: Special Victims Unit


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Air Time:on NBC

Premiere Date:September 20, 1999

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Starring:Dann Florek, Richard Belzer... | View all cast & crew

Description:Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was the first of several successful spin-offs of producer/creator Dick Wolf's long-running NBC series Law & Order. Rather than follow the established Law & Order formula of focusing on the "nuts and bolts" of tracking down a wide variety of criminals and bringing them to trial, the spin-off series, per its title, zeroed in on a single division of the New York City justice system: the Special Victims Unit, or SVU, which dealt primarily with such sex-based crimes... Read more as rape, incest, pedophilia, torture, and serial murder. Also, whereas the original Law & Order was essentially a story-driven series, the personalities of the main characters on Special Victims Unit often dictated the direction of the investigation and the outcome of the case. Christopher Meloni headed the cast as Detective Elliot Stabler, who sustained a calm, soft-spoken veneer on the job, and who fought a losing battle to spare his family the sordid details of his work. In contrast, Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) was volatile and impulsive; a child of rape, she tended to overidentify with the victims of the crimes she investigated and often as not had zero tolerance for the suspects, no matter what the evidence said. The two other principals were carryovers from other series: Richard Belzer repeated his Homicide: Life on the Street characterization of Detective John Munch, who leaned toward the cynical and sarcastic, and who was driven by the paranoia arising from his steadfast belief in vast sociopolitical conspiracies; and Dann Florek was seen as the SVU team's no-nonsense skipper, Captain Donald Cragen, a character he'd played for three seasons on the original Law & Order. Also in the cast were Munch's partners, departmental newcomer Detective Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters) during season one, and flippant, streetwise Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Ice-T) thereafter; another street-smart cop, Detective Monique Jeffries (Michelle Hurd), who appeared in the first season only; forensic psychiatrist Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong), a regular from the third season onward; Assistant DA Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March), who after being placed in the Witness Protection Program was replaced by ADA Casey Novak (Diane Neal); and, on a recurring basis, Ken Briscoe, the son of veteran Law & Order detective Lennie Briscoe -- played by Chris Orbach, the son of veteran Law & Order regular Jerry Orbach. Popularly known as Law & Order: SVU, this series debuted September 20, 1999, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide Close

Previous EpisodesView all episodes (226)

Episode

Aired

226.

Zebras

Jun. 02, 2009

A tourist is found dead with the word "guilty" written on her forehead;... Full summary

225.

Liberties

May 19, 2009

224.

Crush

May 05, 2009

223.

Selfish

Apr. 28, 2009

222.

Baggage

Apr. 07, 2009

Feature

TV Spin-offs

Before Dick Wolf abandoned the use of all birth control, his hit "Law & Order" (1990) seemed prime to become a franchise, and he chose well when he launched "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Read more...

Photo GalleriesView all photo galleries (2)

45th Monte Carlo Television Festival - Mariska Hargitay of "Law & Order" Photocall

Mariska Hargitay

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'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' Cast Photos

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Cast and CrewView all cast & crew (443)

Stars:

Total stars (13)

Elizabeth Donnelly

Mary Stuart Masterson

Dr. Rebecca Hendrix

Beverly D'Angelo

Barry Bostwick

View all guest stars (423)

Directors:

Total directors (2)

Total producers (5)


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