Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a spin-off of the crime drama Law & Order, follows the detectives who work in the "Special Victims Unit" of the 16th Precinct of the New York City Police Department, a unit that focuses on crimes involving rape, sexual assault, and child molestation, as well as any crime loosely connected with any of the three, such as domestic violence, kidnapping, and child abandonment. Since its debut in September 1999, the series has followed the career of Olivia Benson, as she progresses from the rank of Detective, working with a partner (initially Elliot Stabler, and later Nick Amaro), to Sergeant and then to Lieutenant, replacing Donald Cragen as commanding officer of SVU, and then to Captain. The unit also has a prosecutor assigned from the District Attorney's office, and frequently interacts with medical examiners and psychiatrists.

Four of the regular characters have appeared as regulars in other NBC series: Captain Donald Cragen (Florek), who was on the first three seasons of Law & Order; ADA Alexandra Cabot (March), who led the cast of Conviction; Sergeant John Munch (Belzer), as a Baltimore detective in Homicide: Life on the Street. and Detective Elliot Stabler (Meloni) on Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Creation and conception The characters of Elliot Stabler & Olivia Benson were named for creator Dick Wolf's children. Wolf's third child, daughter Sarina, had a character named for her; Benson's mother was named Serena, as well as former ADA Serena Southerlyn on the original Law & Order and Det. Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Cast history

The series originally centered on Senior SVU detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and his partner Junior SVU detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). Stabler was a veteran detective who attempted to shield his family from the disturbing cases he encountered, while Benson's background as the daughter of a rape victim influenced her decision to join the Special Victims Unit. They initially worked with Senior SVU Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer), a transfer from Baltimore's homicide unit, and his first partner, Junior SVU detecive Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters). Detectives Monique Jeffries (Michelle Hurd) and Ken Briscoe (Chris Orbach) also supported the unit.

After 13 episodes, Cassidy transferred to the narcotics division after the SVU cases brought back memories of his childhood sexual abuse. Jeffries subsequently became Munch's partner for the remainder of the first season, while Briscoe was phased out. At the beginning of season two, Jeffries left the unit after disclosing to a department psychiatrist that she had previously slept with a suspect. Munch was then partnered with Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Ice-T), who became his permanent partner.

The detectives were initially supervised by Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), who served as the unit's commanding officer through season 15. Cragen had previously appeared on Law & Order as the commanding officer of the Manhattan North Homicide precinct. The unit also worked closely with FBI Special Agent Dr. George Huang (BD Wong), who served as a criminal profiler, and Medical Examiner Dr. Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie).

The unit's prosecutorial staff also changed frequently. Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) became SVU's first full-time assistant district attorney in season two. After entering the Witness Protection Program following an attempted assassination in season five, she was replaced by Casey Novak (Diane Neal). Novak remained until the end of season nine, when she was censured for violating due process while prosecuting a police officer accused of rape. Kim Greylek (Michaela McManus) became ADA at the beginning of season 10, but Cabot returned midway through the season after Greylek returned to the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. Cabot remained through the second half of season 10 and most of season 11.

During season 11, Sonya Paxton (Christine Lahti) and Jo Marlowe (Sharon Stone) served as ADAs following Cabot's departure. Gillian Hardwicke (Melissa Sagemiller) served as the ADA during season 12, with Novak making a guest appearance after completing her suspension. Paxton also returned for a final appearance during the season, in which she was murdered by a rapist and murderer after leaving behind evidence that helped secure his conviction. In season 13, Cabot and Novak returned as rotating ADAs.

Beginning with the second episode of season 14, Rafael Barba (Raúl Esparza) became SVU's primary prosecutor. He remained in the position until leaving midway through season 19 following a case involving the kidnapping and subsequent death of an infant. Peter Stone (Philip Winchester), previously the lead prosecutor on Chicago Justice, then joined SVU after that series was canceled following one season. Stone left at the end of season 20, and former SVU detective Dominick Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino) became the unit's ADA at the beginning of season 21.

The detective squad underwent a major change during season 13 when Stabler retired from the NYPD following the shooting depicted in the season 12 finale. He returned in season 22 following the murder of his wife, Kathy, and subsequently joined the NYPD's Organized Crime Control Bureau in Law & Order: Organized Crime. FBI Special Agent Huang also departed after being reassigned to Oklahoma City, although he continued to appear occasionally. Detectives Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) and Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) joined the unit, replacing Stabler.

During season 15, Munch and Cragen retired from the NYPD. Benson, who had been promoted to sergeant, subsequently assumed command of the unit. She was promoted to lieutenant at the beginning of season 17 and captain at the beginning of season 21.

Season 16 introduced several changes to the squad. Carisi joined as a detective at the beginning of the season, while Amaro left at the end of the season after being wounded in the line of duty and relocating to California to be closer to his children. Deputy Chief William Dodds (Peter Gallagher) was also introduced, serving as commanding officer of the Special Victims Units across New York City's five boroughs. His son, Sergeant Mike Dodds (Andy Karl), transferred to SVU in season 17 and became Benson's second-in-command. He died at the end of the season. Fin subsequently passed the sergeant's examination in season 18 and was officially promoted to the position in season 19.

Following Carisi's transfer to the District Attorney's Office in season 21, Vice Officer Katriona "Kat" Tamin (Jamie Gray Hyder) joined SVU after assisting with several cases and was eventually promoted to detective. Dodds left the series at the beginning of the season following the fallout from the case involving media mogul Tobias Moore (Ian McShane), and Christian Garland (Demore Barnes) succeeded him as deputy chief.

At the beginning of season 23, Tamin and Garland resigned from the NYPD. Tamin was replaced by Detective Joe Velasco (Octavio Pisano), while Chief Tommy McGrath (Terry Serpico) temporarily assumed Garland's position. During season 24, Detective Grace Muncy (Molly Burnett) joined the unit after helping solve a case involving a teenage Dominican gang. Rollins left SVU and the NYPD midway through the season after accepting a teaching position at Fordham University. Detectives Terry Bruno (Kevin Kane) and Tonie Churlish (Jasmine Batchelor) also joined the unit from the Brooklyn SVU. Muncy later left to join a DEA task force, while Churlish also departed.

In season 25, McGrath was replaced as chief following his interference in his daughter's rape case. IAB Captain Renee Curry (Aimé Donna Kelly) subsequently joined SVU. FBI Agent Shannah Sykes (Jordana Spiro) was later assigned to the unit after assisting in the rescue of a kidnapped girl. Sykes left at the end of the season after solving the murder of her missing sister.

At the beginning of season 26, former homicide detective Kate Silva (Juliana Aidén Martinez) joined SVU. Rollins also returned to the NYPD after consulting on several cases, receiving a promotion to sergeant and becoming commanding officer of the department's Intelligence Unit. Silva later transferred out of SVU.

At the beginning of season 27, Kathryn Tynan (Noma Dumezweni) assumed the vacant position of Chief of Detectives. Fin was subsequently injured while attempting to stop a mugging that was revealed to be a setup by two con artists. While he recovered, Tynan assigned Vice Detective Jake Griffin (Corey Cott), the son of her former partner, to SVU. Velasco later left the unit after being recruited by the DEA for an undercover assignment on the West Coast. Benson subsequently persuaded Rollins to return to SVU in his place.

Main characters Portrayed by Character Position Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Elliot Stabler Sr. Detective (S1–12) colspan="12" colspan="9" colspan="3" colspan="3" 286 Olivia Benson Jr. Detective (S1–12)Sergeant (S15–17)Lieutenant (S17–21)Captain (S21–) colspan="27" 594 Richard Belzer John Munch Sr. Detective (S1–8)Sergeant (S9–15) colspan="15" colspan="10" 326 Dann Florek Donald Cragen Captain (S1–15) colspan="15" colspan="6" colspan=3 333 Michelle Hurd Jr. Detective colspan="2" colspan="25" 25 colspan="4" colspan="3" colspan="5" colspan="8" 97 Ice-T Fin Tutuola Jr. Detective (S2–8)Sr. Detective (S9–19)Sergeant (S19–) colspan="26" 572 BD Wong George Huang Psychiatrist (S2–15) colspan="2" colspan="9" colspan="3" colspan="9" 231 Diane Neal Casey Novak colspan="4" colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="14" 112 Tamara Tunie Melinda Warner Chief Medical Examiner colspan="5" colspan="6" colspan="5" colspan="3" colspan="4" 226 Adam Beach Chester Lake Jr. Detective colspan="7" colspan="18" 21 Kim Greylek colspan="9" colspan="17" 22 Danny Pino Nick Amaro Jr. Detective colspan="12" colspan="4" colspan="6" colspan="4" 95 Kelli Giddish Amanda Rollins Jr. Detective (S13–21)Sr. Detective (S21–24)Sergeant (S26-) colspan="12" colspan="12" 282 Raúl Esparza Rafael Barba Assistant DA (S14–19)Defense Attorney (S21–23) colspan="13" colspan="5" colspan="3" colspan="4" 118 Peter Scanavino Dominick Carisi Jr. Detective (S16–20)Assistant DA (S21–) colspan="15" colspan="12" 250 Philip Winchester Peter Stone Assistant DA colspan="18" colspan="2" colspan="7" 36 Jamie Gray Hyder Katriona Tamin Officer (S21–22)Jr. Detective (S22–23) colspan="20" colspan="3" colspan="4" 36 Demore Barnes Christian Garland Deputy Chief colspan="20" colspan="2" colspan="4" 25 Octavio Pisano Joe Velasco Jr. Detective (S23–26)Sr. Detective (S26–27) colspan="22" colspan="5" 81 Molly Burnett Grace Muncy Jr. Detective colspan="23" colspan="1" colspan="3" 21Kevin Kane Terry Bruno Jr. Detective colspan=23 colspan=2 colspan=2 62 Kate Silva Jr. Detective colspan=25 colspan=1 colspan=1 22 Renee Curry Captain colspan=21 colspan=2 colspan=1 colspan=2 colspan=1 55 Jake Griffin Jr. Detective colspan=26 colspan=1 19

Police

Elliot Stabler

Portrayed by Christopher Meloni Episodes: "Payback" – "Smoked", "Return of the Prodigal Son" – present