Where to Stream Every Season of the “Law & Order ”Franchise

Here's how to watch Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni and Sam Waterston on the NBC dramas

It wouldn't be Thursday without NBC's lineup of Law & Order shows.

Created by Dick Wolf, the long-running franchise has become a huge part of the cultural lexicon. Spanning over 30 years, the series has spawned a total of seven spinoffs, including Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime. Now, after months of production delays due to the historic SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, all three iconic shows are back.

The Law & Order universe originated in 1990 with the flagship series, a procedural crime drama that divided its time between “two separate yet equally important groups: The police, who investigate crime, and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.”

The series, which starred the late Jerry Orbach, along with S. Epatha Merkerson, Jesse L. Martin, Chris Noth and Sam Waterston, among others, ran for 20 seasons on NBC and earned 50 Emmy nominations before it was canceled in 2010. Over a decade later, the show was revived, with season 21 premiering in 2022.

By that time, Law & Order had already launched a number of spinoffs, the most popular being Law & Order: SVU. Debuting in 1999, SVU is the longest-running primetime television drama in history, with a landmark 25th season premiering in 2024. The most recent spinoff to come out of the franchise, Law & Order: Organized Crime, was introduced in 2021.

The beginning of the year rang in new episodes of all three shows that are featured on NBC’s Thursday night lineup, starting at 8 p.m. ET. You can watch new episodes with a live TV subscription, such as DirecTV, Philo TV and Fubo TV, but streaming is also available on select platforms, most notably NBC’s streaming service, Peacock.

Here’s how to watch every series in the Law & Order franchise.

Where can I watch Law & Order?

First up in the Law & Order lineup is the show that started it all. Law & Order debuted on NBC on Sept. 13, 1990, with a simple premise focused on the New York City criminal justice system. Each episode followed an easily digestible formula: a crime occurs, the police investigate and the district attorney prosecutes.

During its initial 20-season run, Law & Order featured a rotating cast of characters. The three longest-serving members were Orbach, who portrayed Detective Lennie Briscoe for 12 seasons, Waterston, who portrayed District Attorney (DA) Jack McCoy for 16 seasons, and Merkerson, who portrayed Lt. Anita Van Buren for 17 seasons.

Other notable cast members over the years included Benjamin Bratt as Detective Rey Curtis, Angie Harmon as Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Abbie Carmichael, and Anthony Anderson as Detective Kevin Bernard.

The series was abruptly canceled in 2010, but over a decade later, a revival was announced. Waterston and Anderson both returned for season 21, reprising their respective roles as Detective Kevin Bernard and DA Jack McCoy. They were joined by newcomers Hugh Dancy, Jeffrey Donovan, Camryn Manheim and Odelya Halevi.

While Donovan didn't return for season 23, Waterston, Dancy, Manheim and Halevi reprised their roles along with season 22 star, Mehcad Brooks and Veep alum, Reid Scott. (Anderson did not return for season 22).

Starting Jan. 18, new episodes will air on Thursdays at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. New episodes will be available for streaming the next day on Peacock and NBC.com. Fans of Law & Order can also stream seasons 13 through 20 on Peacock.

Unfortunately, not every season is available to stream, rent, or buy, but several are. Vudu has seasons 1, 2 and 16-22 available to purchase, while Amazon has seasons 1, 2 and 16-20.

Where can I watch Law & Order: SVU?

The first spinoff series, and the franchises’ most popular to date, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU)  debuted in Sept. of 1999 and has been on-air ever since.

SVU revolves around the Special Victims Unit, a group of specially trained NYPD detectives that investigate sexually related crimes. Like its predecessor, SVU takes a “ripped-from-the-headlines” approach to storytelling, although it's more focused on the detectives than the attorneys.

Another similarity SVU shares with the flagship series is a rotating cast of characters. The one exception is that of Mariska Hargitay, who has starred in the show since its inception. Her role as Detective Olivia Benson — the longest-reigning character in primetime TV — has earned her multiple awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

Hargitay returned for season 25 along with her co-star, Ice-T. The rapper-turned-actor joined SVU as Det. Fin Tutuola in the second season, making him the longest-running male actor on television. Other familiar faces include Peter Scanavino as ADA Dominick Carisi, Octavio Pisano as Detective Joe Velasco and Kevin Kane as Detective Terry Bruno. Kelli Giddish will also be returning, reprising her role as fan-favorite Detective Amanda Rollins.

SVU’s 25th season airs Thursdays on NBC at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes will be available to stream the next day on NBC.com, Peacock and  Hulu.

Fans of the series can also stream every single episode of previous seasons on Peacock and Hulu.

Where can I watch Law & Order: Organized Crime?

The most recent edition to the franchise, Law & Order: Organized Crime debuted in April 2021 as a spinoff to SVU.

The series stars Christopher Meloni, reprising his role as Detective Elliot Stabler. Meloni left SVU after its 12th season, much to the dismay of fans, so his return to the Law & Order universe was highly anticipated and well-received.

In the series, Detective Elliot Stabler, a former member of the Special Victims Unit and Oliva Benson’s ex-partner, returns to the NYPD after his wife’s murder at the hands of a dangerous mob affiliate. Although Organized Crime strays from the typical Law & Order format, there have been numerous crossovers — and fans are hopeful that more will come.

Returning alongside Meloni for season 4 is Danielle Moné Truitt as Sgt. Ayanna Bell, Ainsley Seiger as Det. Jet Slootmaekers and Rick Gonzalez as Det. Bobby Reyes.

New episodes of Organized Crime air Thursdays on NBC at 10 p.m. ET and will be available to stream the next day on Peacock and NBC.com. All three previous seasons are also available on Peacock.

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