Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
SVUopening.jpg
title card
Also known as Law & Order: SVU
Special Victims Unit
Genre Police procedural
Legal Drama
Format Live-action
Created by Dick Wolf
Starring Christopher Meloni
Mariska Hargitay
Richard Belzer
Dann Florek
Michelle Hurd
Stephanie March
Ice-T
B. D. Wong
Diane Neal
Tamara Tunie
Adam Beach
Michaela McManus
Paula Patton
Opening theme Theme of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 11
No. of episodes 248 (List of episodes)
Production
Location(s) NBC Studios New York City
in and around New York City
Running time 40–43 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Original run September 20, 1999 (1999-09-20) – present
Chronology
Related shows Law & Order
Homicide: Life on the Street
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Conviction
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
External links
Official website

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (often abbreviated to Law & Order: SVU) is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and airs on NBC, the series premiered on September 20, 1999 as the first spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama Law & Order. Having finished its 11th season, the series has produced 248 episodes to date.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit originally centered almost exclusively around the detectives of the Special Victims Unit in a fictional version of the 16th Precinct of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). In the style of the original Law & Order, episodes are often "ripped from the headlines" or loosely based on a real crime that received media attention. The show stars Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler, a senior detective in the Manhattan SVU, and Mariska Hargitay as his partner, Detective Olivia Benson, a rookie to the unit who is the child of a rape. As the series progressed, additional supporting characters were added as allies of the detectives in the Manhattan District Attorney's office and the Medical Examiner's office. Typical episodes follow the detectives and their allies as they investigate and prosecute sexually based offenses.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is currently the highest-rated series of the Law & Order franchise, and is one of NBC's top rated shows. The series has been nominated for and won numerous awards, including the 2006 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Hargitay (the first Emmy to be received by a regular on any Law & Order series).

Contents

Production

History and development

The idea for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit originated with the 1986 case of Robert Chambers, who strangled a woman during what he claimed to be 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". Even after writing the episode, however, the case continued to haunt Wolf, who wanted to go deeper into the psychology of crimes to examine the role of human sexuality.[1]

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 was not dependent upon the original series for success. Wolf felt, however, that it was important and commercially desirable to have "Law & Order" in the title, and he initially proposed the title of the show be Law & Order: Sex Crimes. Barry Diller, then head of Studios USA, was concerned about the title, however, 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.[2] The first episode, "Payback", premiered on NBC on September 20, 1999.[3]

Filming

SVU shooting on location in Central Park at night

Many exterior scenes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit are filmed on location in New York City, Dick Wolf's hometown, throughout all five of New York City's boroughs. As the NYPD encounters varied law enforcement challenges on a daily basis, the backdrop provides the writers a supply of ideal locations to choose from.[4]

When searching for a place to film the interiors of the show, the producers discovered that there were no suitable studio spaces available in New York City. As a result, a space was chosen at NBC's Central Archives building in nearby North Bergen, New Jersey, which had sat empty for some time, and featured air-conditioning, adequate parking, and 53,000 square feet (4,900 m2) of stage area.[5] The Archives building is used for police station and courtroom scenes.[6]

Fort Lee, New Jersey serves as the filming location for Detective Elliot Stabler's residence in Queens, New York.[6]

Broadcast history

The show originally aired on Monday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET for the first nine episodes, from September 20 through November 29, 1999. It was then shifted to Friday nights at 10 p.m. ET on January 7, 2000, and remained in that time slot through the end of season four on May 16, 2003. Beginning with the season five premiere on September 23, 2003,SVU moved to Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET and occasionally has run previous shows on Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET. The USA Network also runs previous episodes on weekday afternoons, generally in a block from 3 to 5 p.m. ET.

The series vacated its Tuesday 10 p.m. ET slot in fall 2009 when NBC began a primetime weeknight Jay Leno series. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit was moved to Wednesday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET on NBC, while CTV still airs SVU on Tuesdays at 10:00 in Canada. The eleventh season premiered its new time slot on September 23, 2009.[7] After the 2010 Winter Olympics on March 3, 2010, SVU returned to its previous time slot of 10 p.m. ET, although on Wednesdays rather than Tuesdays as it had previously.[8]

Casting and characters

The cast of Law & Order: Special Victims unit during most of the eleventh season (2009–2010). From left to right: Stephanie March as Cabot, B. D. Wong as Huang, Tamara Tunie as Warner, Christopher Meloni as Stabler, Mariska Hargitay as Benson, Dann Florek as Cragen, Richard Belzer as Munch, and Ice-T as Tutuola.

Casting for the lead characters of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 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 six finalists. For the female lead, Detective Olivia Benson, Samantha Mathis, Reiko Aylesworth, and Mariska Hargitay were being considered. For the male role, Detective Elliot Stabler, the finalists were Tim Matheson, 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 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.[9] Eleven years after being cast, the two actors had become among the highest-paid lead actors on a drama, with each earning nearly $400,000 per episode, a salary that TV Guide said was exceeded only by House's Hugh Laurie.[10]

The first actor to be cast for the show was Dann Florek. Florek had originated the character of 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 all male primary cast. He maintained a friendly relationship with Wolf, however, and went on to direct three episodes of the original series as well as occasionally guest starring on the show. Shortly after Florek reprised his role for Exiled: A Law & Order Movie, he received a call to be on Sex Crimes.[11] Initially reluctant to the idea, he eventually agreed to star on the show as Cragen on the assurance that he would not be asked to audition for the role.[12]

Shortly after the cancellation of Homicide: Life on the Street, Richard Belzer heard that Benjamin Bratt had left Law & Order. Belzer called his manager and instructed his manager to call Wolf and pitch the idea for Belzer's character from Homicide, John Munch, to become Lennie Briscoe's new partner since they had previously teamed in three Homicide crossovers. Wolf loved the idea, but had already cast Jesse L. Martin as Briscoe's new partner. The idea was reconfigured, however, to have Munch on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit instead.[12] Since the character of Munch was created by David Simon and adapted 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 that Munch is a main character in; as a result, Simon receives royalties every time Munch appears in an episode of the show.[13]

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."[12] 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: Special Victims Unit was only initially meant to be a few episodes, Winters was forced to leave when it was time to film Oz again.[14] The void left by Winters' departure was filled for the remainder of the season by Michelle Hurd as Detective Monique Jefferies, a character who Wolf promised that, despite starting out as a minor character with one scene in the pilot, would eventually develop. The character did not develop, however, and doubts surfaced about whether Jefferies was the right character to be Munch's permanent partner. Hurd left the show at the beginning of the second season to join the cast of Leap Years.[15] 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: Special Victims Unit, but he 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.[16]

Stephanie March never appeared on television before being cast on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit nor did she watch much television. 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. She stayed with the series for three seasons, however, and left when she believed she had reached the natural conclusion of where the character was likely to develop. She would later reprise the character as a guest appearance in the sixth season 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: Special Victims Unit in the third season before being cast as Cabot's replacement, Casey Novak, in the fifth season. Neal remained with the show through the end of the ninth season,[17] 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 and would remain for season eleven.[18][19]

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. Warner was initially a recurring character, but became a regular character in the seventh season, and Tunie was added to the opening credits at that time.[20] 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, she also appeared on the Fox espionage-themed drama series 24, in the recurring role of CTU Acting Director Alberta Green. B. D. 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.[21]

After starring in the Dick Wolf-produced Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and guest starring 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 the role was a "dream role," the character proved unpopular with fans who felt that he was designed to gradually write out either Richard Belzer or Ice-T and, feeling there were too many police characters on the show, Beach left the show after only one season.[22] 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 show's tenth season. McManus remained with the series only half a season, however, before departing for unspecified reasons.[23]

Paula Patton joined the main cast as A.D.A. Mikka Von. She replaced Stephanie March.[24]

Series overview

"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."

          –Opening narration spoken by Steven Zirnkilton[25]

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit follows the detectives and prosecutors associated with the New York City Police Department's 16th precinct, otherwise known as the Special Victims Unit, as they investigate sexually based offenses. Originally the show focused around the senior detectives, Elliot Stabler and John Munch, and their partners, Olivia Benson and Brian Cassidy. The detectives were supervised by veteran Captain Donald Cragen and received support from Detectives Monique Jeffries and Ken Briscoe.[25] When Cassidy transferred to Narcotics after thirteen episodes, Jeffries partnered with Munch until the beginning of the second season, when Munch was permanently partnered with Detective Fin Tutuola.[26][27] The unit did not receive a full time assistant district attorney until the second season, when Alexandra Cabot was assigned full time to work with the detectives.[27] After Cabot's departure in season five, she is replaced by Casey Novak and Kim Greylek before returning to the series in season ten.[28][29][30]

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit focuses on crimes of a sexual nature. While the victim is often murdered, this is not always the case, and victims often play prominent roles in episodes. The series frequently uses stories that are "ripped from the headlines" or based on real crimes. Such episodes take a real crime and fictionalize it by changing the details.[31]

Episodes

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is currently shooting its twelfth season. Each season consists of 19 to 25 episodes; each episode lasts approximately sixty minutes including commercials. There have been 248 episodes between 1999 and 2010.

Crossovers

During the first season, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit crossed over with the original Law & Order. In the episode "Entitled (Part 1)," the detectives investigate a shooting and initially focus on the girlfriend of the victim. Another shooting occurs, however, and the detectives find a connection with a case being investigated by the 27th precinct. The episode is concluded in an episode of the original series, though the SVU episode could potentially be a stand alone episode.[32][33][34] Also in the first season, Angie Harmon (who played ADA Abbie Carmichael in the mother-show) guest starred in five episodes. "Payback" (the Pilot), "A Single Life", "Sophmore Jinx", and "Misleader" feature ADA Carmichael, in addition to "Entitled (Part 1)". Also, Jerry Orbach, appearing as Detective Briscoe appeared in the fourth episode, "Hysteria". He has dinner with Captain Cragen and is able to give him the first solid lead in that episode's investigation.

The show crossed over with Law & Order: Trial by Jury in season six with the episode "Night". Benson and Stabler investigate the rape of a young Haitian girl with a bad heart that causes her death. The duo trace the murder to a loner who is a member of a powerful family with political ties. When Novak is assaulted, Arthur Branch reassigns the case to ADA Tracey Kibre. The episode is continued in the Trial by Jury episode "Day."[35][36][37]

During the seventh season, the series once again crossed over with Law & Order. The episode "Design" features a mother/daughter con artist team who are able to escape justice for their crimes. They surface again in the original series' sixteenth season episode "Flaw" when Detectives Joe Fontana and Ed Green investigate the murder of a man who died with a cell phone in his hand on which he was attempting to call Benson.[38][39][40]

This show has yet to crossover with Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

One of the main characters from Law & Order: Los Angeles, Detective Rex Winters (portrayed by Skeet Ulrich) will be introduced in a Law & Order: SVU episode set to air September 29, before the premiere episode of Law & Order: Los Angeles. The episode will focus on an investigation involving a rape kit, which will take Detective Olivia Benson (portrayed by Mariska Hargitay) from New York City to Los Angeles.[41]

Russian adaptation

In 2007, the Russian production company Studio 2B purchased the rights to create an adaptation of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for Russian television. Titled Закон и порядок: отдел оперативных расследований (Law & Order: Division of Field Investigation), the series stars Alice Bogart as Major Olga Bobrova. The series follows a unit of investigators in Moscow whose job it is to investigate crimes of a sexual nature. The series airs on NTV and is produced by Pavel Korchagin, Felix Kleiman, and Edward Verzbovski and directed by Dmitry Brusnikin. The screenplays are written by Efim Ostrovsky, Sergei Kuznetsov, Elena Karavaeshnikova, and Maya Shapovalova.[42]

Reception

U.S. television ratings

SVU premiered on a Monday in 1999. After the November 29 episode, the show was moved to Friday nights where it found its audience and following its first season became a Top 20 show, bucking the phenomenon of the so-called Friday night death slot. Beginning with the fifth season, the show was aired on Tuesdays to compete with CBS' Judging Amy and ABC's NYPD Blue. In recent years, SVU has consistently outperformed Law & Order in the Nielsen ratings for first run episodes. Despite this, SVU has never eclipsed the peak popularity of Law & Order.

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Law & Order: SVU.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May (with the exception of the 10th season), which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season Episodes Timeslot (EST) Season premiere Season finale TV season Ranking Viewers
(in millions)
1st 22 Monday 9:00 p.m.
Friday 10:00 p.m.		 September 20, 1999 May 19, 2000 1999–2000 #40 12.2[43]
2nd 21 Friday 10:00 p.m. October 20, 2000 May 11, 2001 2000–2001 #25 16.8
3rd 23 September 28, 2001 May 17, 2002 2001–2002 #14 15.2[44]
4th 25 September 27, 2002 May 16, 2003 2002–2003 #16 14.8[45]
5th 25 Tuesday 10:00 p.m. September 23, 2003 May 18, 2004 2003–2004 #21 12.7[46]
6th 23 September 21, 2004 May 24, 2005 2004–2005 #23 13.5[47]
7th 22 September 20, 2005 May 16, 2006 2005–2006 #23 13.8[48]
8th 22 September 19, 2006 May 22, 2007 2006–2007 #30 11.9[49]
9th 19 September 25, 2007 May 13, 2008 2007–2008 #30 11.3
10th 22 September 23, 2008 June 2, 2009 2008–2009 #35 10.3[50]
11th 24 Wednesday 9:00 p.m.
Wednesday 10:00 p.m.		 September 23, 2009 May 19, 2010 2009–2010 #48 8.3[51]
12th TBA Wednesday 9:00 p.m.[52] September 22, 2010[53] May 2011 2010–2011 – –

Awards and honors

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has received many awards and award nominations. Mariska Hargitay has twice been nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won once in 2005.[54]

The show has been nominated numerous times for the Emmy Award. Mariska Hargitay has been nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category 7 years in a row beginning in 2004 and won the Emmy in 2006. Christopher Meloni was nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category in 2006. Robin Williams was nominated in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2008. The series was nominated in the category Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for Martha Plimpton in 2002, Marcia Gay Harden and Leslie Caron in 2007, Cynthia Nixon in 2008, Ellen Burstyn, Brenda Blethyn, and Carol Burnett in 2009, and Ann-Margret in 2010. The series won the award for Caron in 2007, Nixon in 2008, Burstyn in 2009, and Margret in 2010.

DVD releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment released Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on DVD encoded for regions 1, 2 & 4.

Title Ep# Release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
The Complete 1st Season 22 October 21, 2003 February 28, 2005 January 20, 2005
The Complete 2nd Season 21 September 27, 2005 November 21, 2005 March 6, 2006
The Complete 3rd Season 23 January 30, 2007 July 23, 2007 August 1, 2007
The Complete 4th Season 25 December 4, 2007 September 11, 2007 November 21, 2007
The Complete 5th Season 25 September 14, 2004 June 16, 2008 July 2, 2008
The Complete 6th Season 23 April 1, 2008 September 22, 2008 December 3, 2008
The Complete 7th Season 22 July 29, 2008 February 16, 2009 March 4, 2009
The Complete 8th Season 22 February 17, 2009 April 13, 2009 June 3, 2009
The Complete 9th Season 19 May 26, 2009 August 31, 2009 September 30, 2009
The Complete 10th Season 22 September 22, 2009 December 28, 2009[55] February 3, 2010
The Complete 11th Season 24 September 21, 2010[56] N/A N/A

Online releases

Seasons 1 and 5–11 are available for purchase Amazon Video on Demand and on Apple iTunes as well as Sony's PSN service in both HD and standard formats in the United States.

Seasons 1–10 are also available on Netflix's Watch Instantly feature. DVDs of seasons 1–10 are also available for rent.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), p. 2
  2. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 10–11
  3. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), p. 187
  4. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 2–3
  5. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), p. 14
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kimpton, Roger. "Hollywood on the Palisades"; Palisade magazine; Summer 2010; Pages 12-15
  7. ↑ Mitovich, Matt. "Fall TV: NBC Announces Premiere Dates". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/News/FallTV-NBC-premieres-1007251.aspx. Retrieved June 25, 2009. 
  8. ↑ Hibberd, James (January 10, 2010). "NBC firms up post-'Leno' schedule". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ie77b4ee401b87ca182697be7b448ad25. Retrieved January 22, 2010. 
  9. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), p. 11
  10. ↑ Stephen Battaglio (August 10, 2010). "" Who Are TV's Top Earners?". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Top-TV-Earners-1021717.aspx. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
  11. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 145–146
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Green and Dawn (2009), p. 13
  13. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), p. 150
  14. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), p. 157
  15. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 154–156
  16. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 152–154
  17. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 167–169
  18. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 165–166
  19. ↑ O'Connor, Mickey (June 29, 2009). "SVU News: Mariska and Meloni Are In For Season 11, and So Is Christine Lahti". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/News/SVU-News-Mariska-1007513.aspx. Retrieved 2009-06-29. 
  20. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 172–173
  21. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 175–176
  22. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 160–162
  23. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 170–171
  24. ↑ O'Connor, Mickey (July 21, 2010). "Precious Star Paula Patton Is Law & Order: SVU's New ADA". TV Guide (TV Guide). http://www.tvguide.com/News/Paula-Patton-SVU-1020796.aspx. Retrieved July 21, 2010. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Payback". Writer: Dick Wolf. Director: Jean de Segonzac. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. NBC. September 20, 1999. No. 1, season 1.
  26. ↑ "Limitations". Writer: Michael R. Perry. Director: Constantine Makris. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. NBC. February 11, 2000. No. 14, season 1.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Wrong is Right". Writers: Jeff Eckerle & David J. Burke. Director: Ted Kotcheff. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. NBC. October 20, 2000. No. 1, season 2.
  28. ↑ "Serendipity". Writers: Dawn DeNoon & Lisa Marie Petersen. Director: Constantine Makris. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. NBC. October 21, 2003. No. 5, season 5.
  29. ↑ "Trials". Writer: David Platt. Director: Dawn DeNoon. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. NBC. September 23, 2008. No. 1, season 10.
  30. ↑ "Lead". Writer: David Platt. Director: Jonathan Greene. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. NBC. March 10, 2009. No. 15, season 10.
  31. ↑ Conan, Neal (2009-09-29). "'Law & Order' Writer Turns Headlines Into TV". Talk of the Nation (National Public Radio). http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113308543. Retrieved 2009-12-14. 
  32. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 198–199
  33. ↑ "Entitled (Part 1)". Writers: Robert Palm & Wendy West. Director: Ed Sherin. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. NBC. February 18, 2000. No. 15, season 1.
  34. ↑ "Entitled (Part 2)". Writers: Robert Palm & Wendy West. Director: Ed Sherin. Law & Order. NBC. February 18, 2000. No. 14, season 10.
  35. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), pp. 294–295
  36. ↑ "Night". Writer: Amanda Green. Directors: Arthur W. Forney & Juan J. Campanella. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. NBC. May 3, 2005. No. 20, season 6.
  37. ↑ "Day". Writer: Amanda Green. Directors: Arthur W. Forney & Juan J. Campanella. Law & Order: Trial by Jury. NBC. May 3, 2005. No. 11, season 1.
  38. ↑ Green and Dawn (2009), p. 300
  39. ↑ "Design". Writer: Lisa Marie Petersen. Director: David Platt. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. NBC. September 27, 2005. No. 2, season 7.
  40. ↑ "Flaw". Writer: Lisa Marie Petersen. Director: David Platt. Law & Order. NBC. September 28, 2005. No. 2, season 16.
  41. ↑ "‘Law & Order: SVU’ To Shoot On West Coast". Access Hollywood. August 17, 2010. http://www.accesshollywood.com/law-and-order-svu-to-shoot-on-west-coast_article_35729. Retrieved August 21, 2010. 
  42. ↑ "Главная страница" (in Russian). http://www.orderlaw.narod.ru/. Retrieved 2009-12-14. 
  43. ↑ "US-Jahrescharts 1999/2000" (in German). Quotenmeter.de. May 30, 2002. http://www.quotenmeter.de/index.php?newsid=9946. 
  44. ↑ "How did your favorite show rate?". USA Today. May 28, 2002. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/2002/2002-05-28-year-end-chart.htm. 
  45. ↑ "Nielsen's TOP 156 Shows for 2002–03". May 20, 2003. http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.tv/browse_thread/thread/ee82c0640bcaeb06/82c78e0fe7710443?lnk=st&q=nielsen+top+156&rnum=1#82c78e0fe7710443. 
  46. ↑ "I.T.R.S. Ranking Report". ABC Television Network. June 2, 2004. http://www.abcmedianet.com/Web/progcal/dispDNR.aspx?id=060204_11. 
  47. ↑ "2004–05 primetime series wrap". The Hollywood Reporter. May 27, 2005. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000937471. 
  48. ↑ "2005–06 primetime series wrap". The Hollywood Reporter. May 26, 2006. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002576393. 
  49. ↑ "2006–07 primetime wrap". The Hollywood Reporter. May 25, 2007. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/features/e3ifbfdd1bcb53266ad8d9a71cad261604f. 
  50. ↑ "ABC Medianet". ABC Medianet. 2009-05-19. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=051909_05. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
  51. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2010-05-27). "Full Series Rankings For The 2009-10 Broadcast Season –". Deadline.com. http://www.deadline.com/2010/05/full-series-rankings-for-the-2009-10-broadcast-season/. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
  52. ↑ Gorman, Bill (2010-05-16). "NBC 2010 Fall Schedule Revealed". TvByTheNumbers. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/05/16/nbc-2010-fall-schedule-revealed/51502. 
  53. ↑ Nellie, Andreeva (2010-07-15). "NBC Announces Fall Premiere Dates". Deadline. http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/nbc-announces-fall-premiere-dates/. 
  54. ↑ "Golden Globe Wins: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/film/25983. Retrieved 2009-12-14. 
  55. ↑ "Law And Order: Special Victims Unit - Season 10 (5 Discs) - DVDs at Play.com (UK)". Play.com. http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/11540943/Law-Order-Special-Victims-Unit-Season-10/Product.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
  56. ↑ "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit DVD news: Announcement for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - The 11th Year". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Law-Order-Special-Victims-Unit-Season-11/13914. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 

Bibliography

Green, Susan; Dawn, Randee (2009), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Unofficial Companion, Dallas: BenBella Books, ISBN 1933771887 

External links

Law & Order franchise
Current series
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present) · Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001–present) · Law & Order: Los Angeles (2010–present)
Past series
Law & Order (1990–2010) · Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005–2006)
Foreign adaptations
Paris enquêtes criminelles (2007–present) · Закон и Порядок: Отдел Оперативных Расследований (2007–present) · Law & Order: UK (2009–present)
Related series
Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) · New York Undercover (1994–1998) · Deadline (2000–2001) · Crime & Punishment (2002–2004) · Conviction (2006)
Other media
Exiled: A Law & Order Movie · Video games
Personnel
Dick Wolf · Neal Baer · René Balcer · Walon Green · Blake Masters · Peter Jankowski · Mike Post · Steven Zirnkilton
See also: media relating to Law & Order at Wikimedia Commons
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order franchise
Creator
Dick Wolf
Characters
Elliot Stabler • Olivia Benson • John Munch • Don Cragen • Monique Jeffries • Alexandra Cabot • Fin Tutuola • George Huang • Casey Novak • Melinda Warner • Chester Lake • Kim Greylek
Seasons
Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4 • Season 5 • Season 6 • Season 7 • Season 8 • Season 9 • Season 10 • Season 11 • Season 12
See Also
List of awards and nominations • List of cast members
USA Network programming
Original
programming
1981–1990
Airwolf · Bumper Stumpers · The Dick Cavett Show · Jackpot · Love Me, Love Me Not · NBA on USA · The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents · NHL on USA · Southwest Championship Wrestling · The USA Thursday Game of the Week · WWF All American Wrestling · WWF Prime Time Wrestling · WWF Tuesday Night Titans
1991–2000
Beyond Reality · Chain Reaction · Cover Me · Crush · Dance Party USA · Duckman · Eco-Challenge · Farmclub.com · Free 4 All · G vs E · Lost on Earth · Manhattan, AZ · Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm · The Net · Night Flight · Pacific Blue · Quicksilver · Silk Stalkings · Strip Poker · Swamp Thing · Tuesday Night Fights · USA Action Extreme Team · USA Cartoon Express · USA High · USA Up All Night · USA Saturday Nightmares · The War Next Door · Weird Science · World League of American Football · WWF Action Zone · WWF Heat · WWF LiveWire · WWF Mania · WWF Monday Night Raw · WWF Superstars
2001–2010
The 4400 · Cannonball Run 2001 · Combat Missions · Cool Money · D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear · The Dead Zone · Dr. Steve-O · Frankenstein · Helen of Troy · House Wars · The Huntress · Kojak · La Femme Nikita · The Last Ride · Made in the USA · Monk · Nashville Star · Peacemakers · Spartacus · The Starter Wife (miniseries, TV series) · Stealing Christmas · Smush · Three Wise Guys · To Love and Die · Touching Evil · Traffic · Underfunded · U.S. Open Tennis Championship · USA Live
Current
Burn Notice (since 2007) · Covert Affairs (since 2010) · In Plain Sight (since 2008) · Law & Order: Criminal Intent (since 2007) · Psych (since 2006) · Royal Pains (since 2009) · Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show · White Collar (since 2009) · WWE Raw (since 1993)
Upcoming
Common Law · Fairly Legal (January 2011) · A Legal Mind · Necessary Roughness · Untitled Dick Wolf Project
Syndicated
programming
Current
Becker · House · JAG · Law & Order: Special Victims Unit · NCIS · Walker, Texas Ranger · Wings
Upcoming
24 · Modern Family · NCIS: Los Angeles