50 Best 'Law & Order: SVU' Episodes of All Time, Ranked
Law & Order: SVU
Law & Order: SVU premiered in 1999, and since then has become the longest-running primetime drama series in history. There's a big reason for that: Despite (and sometimes because of) the dark and often gruesome nature of the subjects, the series' plot twists and cast chemistry make the show flat out addictive. SVU follows the Special Victims Unit as they investigate sex crimes and crimes against children and minors.
The show stars Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson, plus a revolving cast of other detectives, including Ice-T as Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola, Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins, Peter Scanavino as detective-turned Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Dominick Carisi and Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler (now the star of Law & Order: Organized Crime, which is in its fourth season). Throughout it's more than two-decade tenure on air, SVU has also featured a slew of celebrity guest stars, including Bradley Cooper, Alec Baldwin, Miranda Lambert, Norman Reedus, Serena Williams, Justin Bieber, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Hyland, John Stamos, Amanda Seyfried and so many more in its "ripped from the headlines" stories.
Another perk to being a fan of SVU? Thanks to its incredibly long run, it's in syndication and almost always on. That being said, with 25 years of episodes to pick from, it can overwhelming to start. We've rounded up the 50 best Law & Order: SVU episodes to give you a taste of what to expect from the series.
Related: Everything to Know About Season 25 of 'Law & Order: SVU'
50 best Law & Order: SVU episodes, ranked
50. Law & Order: SVU Season 19, Episode 7: "Something Happened"
Secrets, secrets. Benson reveals past secrets to help a victim recall a traumatic event. Another important item kept under wraps shocks the victim, her sister and the entire squad, upending an investigation.
49. Law & Order: SVU Season 11, Episode 12: "Shadow"
The squad investigates an heiress who may have murdered her parents.
48. Law & Order: SVU Season 14, Episode 19: "Born Psychopath"
One of the most chilling episodes of all time, in which the detectives investigate a mother prone to violent outbursts after they receive a call from a school nurse.
47. Law & Order: SVU Season 5, Episode 13: "Hate"
The murder of an Arab-American woman leads detectives to suspect a hate crime spree in an episode fit for the post-9/11 era.
46. Law & Order: SVU Season 5, Episode 17: "Mean"
The death of a classmate uncovers a history of bullying.
45. Law & Order: SVU Season 24, Episode 22: "All Pain Is One Malady"
Bensler is thrown into chaos just like old times in this Season 24 episode that had a total Season 7 vibe.
44. Law & Order: SVU Season 24, Episode 12: "Blood Out"
Stabler admits he cares for Benson. He goes in for a kiss. She's not ready. The will-they-or-won't-they continues.
Related: Christopher Meloni Shares His Thoughts on 'Bensler' and Stabler's Evolution
43. Law & Order: SVU Season 24, Episode 9 "And a Trauma in a Pear Tree"
Rollisi gets married and Rollins (sort of) exits.
42. Law & Order: SVU Season 5, Episode 3 "Mother"
Doctor-patient confidentiality is a hurdle for the squad when a psychiatrist refuses to discuss her conversations with a patient who is a prime suspect.
41. Law & Order: SVU Season 4, Episode 12 "Risk"
Stabler goes undercover when a baby overdoses on cocaine-laced baby food.
40. Law & Order: SVU Season 14, Episode 5 "Manhattan Vigil"
The show's 300th episode brings flashbacks for Cragen, Munch and Bensen. A boy's abduction feels eerily similar to an unsolved kidnapping in the same neighborhood.
39. Law & Order: SVU Season 6, Episode 7: "Charisma"
While investigating who impregnated a 12-year-old girl, the Special Victims Unit uncovers a web of deceit from a con artist.
38. Law & Order: SVU Season 12, Episode 13: "Mask"
Stabler goes undercover to investigate sex addiction in this chilling episode, in which Jeremy Irons guest stars.
37. Law & Order: SVU Season 13, Episode 1: "Scorched Earth"
Anika Noni Rose guest stars in the Season 13 premiere as a hotel maid accusing a diplomat of sexual assault, inspired by the true case surrounding Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
36. Law & Order: SVU Season 2, Episode 9: "Pixies"
A harrowing look into young women's and girls' gymnastics long before the real-life gymnastics sex abuse scandal came to light, "Pixies" guest stars a young Kate Mara.
35. Law & Order: SVU Season 9, Episode 9 "Paternity"
Stabler questions whether Kathy is really pregnant with his child. Benson and Kathy get into a car accident. Kathy goes into premature labor. Truly, the actual crime is secondary to the soap opera in this one.
34. Law & Order: SVU Season 15, Episode 8: "Military Justice"
A female officer (played by guest star Shiri Appleby) is arrested for DUI, but turns out to be the victim of a brutal rape—that she's reluctant to report because she fears her military status may be threatened.
33. Law & Order: SVU Season 22; Episode 9: "Return of the Prodigal Son"
It aired on April 1, 2021, but Det. Stabler's return to SVU after a 10-year absence was no joke.
32. Law & Order: SVU Season 8, Episode 8: "Cage"
A young Elle Fanning guest stars in "Cage," which focuses on a case involving attachment therapy techniques and foster care.
31. Law & Order: SVU Season 6, Episode 2: "Debt"
Ming-Na Wen guest stars in "Debt," in which two young girls found alone in their family's apartment leads to a much broader and more unsettling investigation.
30. Law & Order: SVU Season 13, Episode 11: "Theatre Tricks"
Loosely inspired by New York City interactive theater phenomenon Sleep No More, "Theatre Tricks," which guest stars Adam Driver, Gilbert Gottfried, Ice-T's wife, Coco Austin, and comedian Kevin Pollak, has more twists and turns than anything that's ever happened on a stage.
29. Law & Order: SVU Season 9, Episode 17: "Authority"
Robin Williams guest stars as a brilliant but disturbed engineer who leads Benson and Stabler on a wild goose chase, partially inspired by true events.
28. Law & Order: SVU Season 10, Episode 6: "Babes"
In another somewhat "ripped from the headlines" story, "Babes" is partially inspired by reports of a "pregnancy pact" at a high school and guest stars Debi Mazar and Jesse McCartney.
27. Law & Order: SVU Season 24, Episode 15: "King of the Moon"
Guest star Bradley Whitford and Hargitay brought their A+-games to this nuanced episode centering around a man with dementia who confesses to murder. Benson finds the story suspect—and for good reason.
26. Law & Order: SVU Season 7, Episode 9, "Rockabye"
Abortion access—even with Roe protections in place—takes center stage in this episode centering around a pregnant teen.
25. Law & Order: SVU Season 10, Episode 9: "Selfish"
Hilary Duff guest stars in this episode, which has several nods to the Casey Anthony case.
24. Law & Order: SVU Season 1, Episode 1: "Payback"
The series premiere focuses on the brutal murder and genital mutilation of a cab driver, but sets the tone for the show. There's a lot more to the story than what seems like a random attack. Law & Order regular Angie Harmon guest stars, and it marks the first and only time in the series that viewers see Benson's mother.
23. Law & Order: SVU Season 10, Episode 2: "Zebras"
In this fan-favorite episode, a forensic evidence technician blows what should have been a simple case in a big way...and it gets worse from there.
22. Law & Order: SVU Season 8, Episode 9, "Choreographed"
When a model is poisoned, all clues seem to lead to a choreographer and love triangle. The late Bob Saget guest stars.
21. Law & Order: SVU Season 15, Episode 1: "Surrender Benson"
Benson is held captive in the Season 15 premiere as the rest of the Special Victims Unit desperately tries to find her.
20. Law & Order: SVU Season 15, Episode 3: "American Tragedy"
A celebrity chef, played by Cybill Shepherd, shoots and kills an unarmed Black teen and claims self-defense in this episode that combines Paula Deen's racism scandal and the slaying of Trayvon Martin.
19. Law & Order: SVU Season 6, Episode 6: "Conscience"
Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan guests in this terrifying tale.
18. Law & Order: SVU Season 6, Episode 22: "Parts"
Solwey returns after getting a compassionate release and is awaiting a transplant. Her role procuring organs on the black market lands her in hot water and at risk for being removed from the transplant list. Munch faces an ethical dilemma, and Belzer's layered portrayal of the complex issue was an absolute treat to watch.
17. Law & Order: SVU Season 5, Episode 22: "Painless"
Munch shares his guilt over his own father's suicide and truly shines beside guest star Marlee Matlin as Amy Solwey, who plays a woman with a rare genetic disorder who did not uphold her part of a suicide pact.
16. Law & Order: SVU Season 12, Episode 3: "Behave"
Jennifer Love Hewitt guest stars as a survivor of multiple assaults and Skeet Ulrich plays Detective Rex Winters in this crossover episode from the short-lived Law & Order: L.A.
15. Law & Order: SVU Season 5, Episode 12: "Brotherhood"
Fraternal and paternal bonds are examined in this case of hazing gone really wrong.
14. Law & Order SVU Season 5, Episode 4: "Loss"
The first Alex Cabot era on SVU ends with a gripping, plot-twist of an ending.
13. Law & Order: SVU Season 7, Episode 19: "Fault"
Benson and Stabler choose each other over the job in an episode that lives in Bensler lore.
12. Law & Order: SVU Season 17, Episode 23: "Heartfelt Passages"
Barba and Benson take on a corrections officer, played by Brad Garrett, accused of raping female inmates in this heartbreaking and chilling episode.
11. Law & Order: SVU Season 9, Episode 1: "Alternate"
Cynthia Nixon won an Emmy for her guest-starring role in the Season 9 premiere as a murder suspect who claims to have dissociative identity (multiple personality) disorder.
10. Law & Order: SVU Season 9, Episode 15: "Undercover"
Olivia Benson puts herself in grave danger to investigate sex crime allegations against corrections officers.
9. Law & Order: SVU Season 10, Episode 16: "Ballerina"
Carol Burnett and Matthew Lillard guest star in this twisted tale that involves murder, strip clubs and some really unhealthy relationships.
8. Law & Order: SVU Season 10, Episode 15: "Lead"
A lawsuit from a convicted sex offender, a murder and a particularly compelling revelation from Dr. Huang (BD Wong) make this episode a nail-biter and a fan favorite.
7. Law & Order: SVU Season 6, Episode 12: "Identity"
A gang leader is murdered and a pair of twins are implicated...but one of the twins isn't who she seems, and it opens an entirely new investigation into two doctors.
6. Law & Order: SVU Season 20, Episode 4: "Revenge"
"Revenge" opens with a seemingly random assault that ends up being anything but.
5. Law & Order: SVU Season 14, Episode 3: "Twenty-Five Acts"
Anna Chlumsky guest stars as the author of a raunchy romance novel (think Fifty Shades of Grey-esque) who accuses a popular television host of sexual assault. Aside from the plot twists, fans also love this episode because it marks the first appearance of Raúl Esparza as A.D.A. Rafael Barba.
4. Law & Order: SVU Season 1, Episode 21: "Nocturne"
"Nocturne" examines the heartbreaking and harrowing cycle of abuse in a nuanced way.
3. Law & Order: SVU Season 7, Episode 6: "Raw"
Marcia Gay Harden guest stars as an investigator going undercover in a white supremacist group in "Raw," for which she was nominated for an Emmy.
2. Law & Order: SVU Season 6, Episode 4: "Scavenger"
This episode shows the Special Victims Unit following clues, riddles and puzzles from a sadistic serial killer. The story was inspired by real-life murderer Dennis Rader, known as the BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) Killer.
1. Law & Order: SVU Season 7, Episode 3: "911"
Hargitay won an Emmy for this episode, which follows a harrowing, mad search for a missing girl that turns up what seems like 911 false leads.
