This hard-hitting and emotional series from NBC's "Law & Order" brand chronicles the life and crimes of the Special Victims Unit of the New York Police Department, the elite squad of detectives who investigate sexually based crimes. Created by Emmy Award-winning producer Dick Wolf, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is now entering its eleventh season. The program has received numerous citations from community-based organizations for the social issues it tackles, and the cast members are frequently recognized for the work they do off-screen to promote personal health and safety and other volunteer efforts and initiatives.
The drama follows Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), a seasoned veteran of the unit who has seen it all, and his partner, Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), whose difficult past -- a product of rape -- is the reason she joined the unit. Meloni is recognized as one of the most versatile actors today, taking on challenging and diverse roles in both television and film. He is well known for his portrayal of the duplicitous inmate Chris Keller on HBO's critically praised series "Oz." He moved to the right side of the law, however, on "Law & Order: SVU" where he was nominated for his first Emmy Award in 2006 as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
In 2009, Hargitay (Detective Benson) garnered her sixth Emmy nomination for Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and won the 2006 Emmy for that category. In 2006, she received her third SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Detective Benson. In 2005, Hargitay earned her first Golden Globe Award for Lead Actress in a Drama Series for the role and her second Emmy nomination; and in 2004, both an Emmy and a SAG nomination in the same category.
Captain Donald Cragen, (Dann Florek, reprising the role he played on the first three seasons of "Law & Order" 1990-1993), oversees the unit with his tough but supportive approach to the team's complex cases, guiding the squad through the challenges they face every day. Detective John Munch, (Richard Belzer, "Homicide: Life on the Street"), a transfer from Baltimore's homicide unit, brings his acerbic wit, conspiracy theories and street-honed investigative skills to the team. And his partner, Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Ice-T), adds his unique sense of humor and investigative experience, making him a formidable match for Munch.
Forensic psychiatrist, George Huang (B.D. Wong), whose insight into the minds of the accused often provides significant clues that lead to the resolution of a case, and Medical Examiner Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie) lend their skills to uncover forensic evidence. Also joining the team, the new assistant district attorney Kim Grayleck (Michaela McManus).
In 2009, Ellen Burstyn, Brenda Blethyn, and Carol Burnett were all nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series In 2008, Cynthia Nixon won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, and Robin Williams earned a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for their guest roles on "SVU". Leslie Caron was also awarded an Emmy at the 2007 Creative Arts Emmys for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." In 2007, the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards nominated 'SVU's' "Sin" for an Outstanding Individual Episode. In addition, Richard Belzer was nominated for a 2007 People's Choice Award for Favorite Scene Stealing Star, and "Law & Order: SVU" was nominated for Best Drama.
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is a Wolf Films production in association with Universal Media Studios. Wolf, is creator and executive producer, Neal Baer (NBC's "ER," "China Beach"), Ted Kotcheff ("Fun with Dick and Jane," "Weekend at Bernie's") and Peter Jankowski are executive producers
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Episode 24: Smoked
When a woman is murdered during an afternoon shopping trip with her daughter, Detectives Benson and Stabler are called in because she was scheduled to testify in their high-profile rape case. As the detectives continue to investigate the correlation between the murder and their case, they discover unlikely friendships that will lead them to the truth.
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May 18,
2011 |
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Episode 23: Delinquent
When a young woman finds a teenage boy asleep and naked in her bedroom, his mother, Bree Walsh, is quick to defend him. While Detective Benson and Detective Stabler try to figure out what truly happened, they also have to manage the sneaky teenager and his naive mother. As the detectives dig deeper, they discover how deceptive appearances can be.
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May 11,
2011 |
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Episode 22: Bang
When an abandoned baby is found on playground, Detectives Benson and Stabler go in search of the child’s caregiver. Upon meeting the nanny and her boyfriend, Ken Turner, they soon realize that he is also engaged to the baby’s adoptive mother, Dede Aston. As the detectives dig deeper into Turner’s malevolent past, they realize that the law may be on his side.
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May 4,
2011 |
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Episode 21: Reparations
Ada Casey Novak (guest star diane neal) returns when a man is accused of rape and his cousin Dda Jonah Dekker (guest star terrence howard from "law & order: los angeles") steps in to defend him Dda Jonah Dekker (guest star Terrence Howard from "Law & Order: Los Angeles") comes to NYC from Los Angeles to defend his cousin who has been accused of rape. Meanwhile, ADA Casey Novak (guest star Diane Neal) returns to help detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Chris Meloni) with the case. The detectives soon discover that the case goes much deeper than the current accusation and it raises the question: how far will someone go to get revenge for their family?
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April 6,
2011 |
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Episode 20: Totem
When a young girl is found dead with a doll that is believed to have been left as a totem, detectives Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler (Meloni) team up with Captain Jackson (Guest Star Jeremy Irons), a psychologist who assisted them with a recent case, to investigate her murder. Jackson joins the detectives as they retrace the girl's last steps and go to meet with her piano teacher June Frye (guest star Elizabeth Mitchell). Jackson's skills prove to be invaluable in deciphering the meaning of the totem and ultimately finding her killer.
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March 30,
2011 |
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Episode 19: Bombshell
After Jerry Bullard (guest star Tom Irwin) is found stabbed in a parking garage, Detectives Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler (Meloni) discover that the family man might have had an illicit hobby. When the detectives go undercover at a swingers club they meet a popular lady named Cassandra Davina (Guest Star Rose McGowan) and her jealous boyfriend, Doug Loveless (Guest Star Ryan Hurst). As tensions grow, the detectives question just how far jealousy can push someone.
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March 23,
2011 |
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Episode 8: Penetration
Benson and Stabler are investigating who raped Agent Dana Lewis when she suddenly backs off from her cooperation, citing her undercover assignment. This frustration leads to the detectives joining her operation which is protesting the plans for a mosque at Ground Zero at least that is what is supposed to be happening.
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March 9,
2011 |
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Episode 12: Possessed
A young man finds that his girlfriend Larissa Welsh (Manning) has been attacked in her apartment with evidence that points to her buried past. Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) go in search of her attacker and discover that an elderly man, Orville Underwood (guest star David Patrick Kelly), may have been involved in traumatic events of Welsh's past. For the detectives, solving the case comes down to who was in possession of the evidence.
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March 9,
2011 |
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Episode 3: Behave
A rape victim, Vicki (Hewitt), is brought into the hospital initially claiming she has been attacked multiple times by the same man. Detectives Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler (Meloni) are determined to help her, but she lives in such terror that she then denies she has been raped at all and refuses to submit to a rape kit. As Benson looks for a way to help, she is horrified to learn that there are police precincts and evidence labs across the country that never test their rape kits at all. The investigation soon leads her to Los Angeles where she meets Detective Rex Winters (guest star Skeet Ulrich), who has information that could finally help Vicki get justice.
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March 5,
2011 |
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Episode 11: Pop
A young boy is found dead on a park carousel after being dropped off by his uncle Joe Gilbert (guest star James Carpinello). When Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) learn that the boy was beaten to death they suspect that it could be the result of a bully at school. The investigation leads to an unsettling gambling ring. Detectives suspect that Gilbert's acquaintance, Joe Roberts is beating his wife Sandra (guest star Drea de Matteo) and the case takes a horrifying turn.
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March 2,
2011 |
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Episode 9: Gray
Stabler's participation in a Take Back the Night rally at Kathleen's campus results in an extra case for him and Benson when a student claims she was raped. Unfortunately, the case turns out to be a "he said-she said" type with little evidence. Enter Sonya Paxton, and it can only get more complicated.
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February 26,
2011 |
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Episode 18: Bully
When an art patron, Cindi, discovers a gruesome work of art, it leads gallery visitors to find a woman dead in her apartment above. Detectives Benson and Stabler look into the victim's personal contacts in search of suspects, including the victim's close friend Annette Cole. The detectives soon discover a work environment that leads them to question if bullying does go beyond the playground.
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February 23,
2011 |
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Episode 6: Branded
When detectives Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler (Meloni) investigate a brutal attack on an unassuming, upstanding father (guest star Michael Gladis), they find he's also been branded on his chest with a wire coat hanger. Before long, another victim turns up (guest star Kevin Alejandro) who has suffered the same injuries. Once they track down the suspect, some startling memories surface that completely change the course of the case.
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February 19,
2011 |
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Episode 17: Pursuit
When Alicia Harding (Messing), host of the television series "Neighborhood Predator," begins to receive personal threats, her life-long pursuit to find her sister's abductor emerges. Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Odafin "Fin" Tutola (Ice-T) are joined in the investigation by ADA Sonya Paxton (Lahti), who may be too involved in the case. As Harding thinks she is getting close to the truth, another's life hangs in the balance.
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February 16,
2011 |
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Episode 10: Rescue
A rape case happens to turn up Vivian Arliss' name, and Benson, who has not given up trying to find Calvin's mother, wants on the investigation. When Cragen gives it to Tutuola and Munch instead, she will risk her job, defying his orders, because of the bond forming between her and Calvin.
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February 12,
2011 |
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Episode 16: Spectacle
After the sexual assault of a young woman is videotaped and featured on a campus-wide intranet feed, detectives Elliot Stabler and Odafin "Fin" Tutola go in search of the victim and her attacker. As they delve into the investigation, it becomes clear that the perpetrator created a spectacle to draw attention to his own issues.
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February 9,
2011 |
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Episode 15: Flight
When it is discovered that a teenage girl is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to sexual abuse, all leads point to billionaire Jordan Kress. As Detectives Benson and Stabler continue to investigate, Kress involves his lawyer, Dwight Stanitch, who throws the whole case awry.
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February 2,
2011 |
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Episode 7: Trophy
Benson and Stabler investigate the rape and murder of a woman whose body is found at an industrial laundry facility. The detectives quickly catch up with the prime suspect, but the case ends up to be much more complicated than they thought when a bigger mystery is revealed and more victims are found.
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January 26,
2011 |
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Season 11 Episode 22: Ace
When a pregnant woman is raped, Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Eliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) arrive at the hospital to find that she has fled. Even when someone is arrested for a similar offense, ADA Jo Marlowe (guest star Sharon Stone) says she doesn't have a case in court unless they find the victim and get a statement from her. Soon, Benson and Stabler connect the woman to an illegal adoption operation, forcing them to go undercover and expose the truth.
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January 22,
2011 |
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Episode 14: Dirty
Detective Saliyah "Sunny" Qadri (Aghdashloo) goes in search of Brooklyn District Attorney Page Ferguson, who she fears may be in danger. Qadri finds Ferguson just in time to witness her fall from the top of a parking garage. When Benson (Hargitay) arrives, she discovers that the crime scene has been tampered with. Benson turns to an old friend, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Danielson (guest star Gloria Reuben) for help.
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January 19,
2011 |
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Episode 5: Wet
Detectives Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler (Meloni) arrive on the scene where a woman is found dead in Bethesda Fountain. When her squeaky clean image doesn't match up with her promiscuous actions on the night of her murder, ADA Mikka Von (guest star Paula Patton) encourages the cops to dig deeper into her past. When they find out that the woman was poisoned with toxic mushrooms, they suspect a crazed activist and professor (guest star David Krumholtz) is responsible.
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January 12,
2011 |
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Episode 13: Mask
Debbie Shields (Cook) comes home to find her partner Ann Jackson being raped by a man wearing a haunting mask. Shields contacts Ann's father to notify him of her critical condition. As detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Chris Meloni) interrogate Ann's father, Captain Jackson (Irons), his sordid past is revealed filled with sexual and alcohol addiction. Jackson's new role as a sex therapist is hindering the detectives from getting the information they need to solve the case and if Jackson won't comply, the detectives are going to have to get creative.
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January 12,
2011 |
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Episode 12: Possessed
A young man finds that his girlfriend Larissa Welsh (Manning) has been attacked in her apartment with evidence that points to her buried past. Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) go in search of her attacker and discover that an elderly man, Orville Underwood (guest star David Patrick Kelly), may have been involved in traumatic events of Welsh's past. For the detectives, solving the case comes down to who was in possession of the evidence.
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January 5,
2011 |
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Episode 8: Penetration
Benson and Stabler are investigating who raped Agent Dana Lewis when she suddenly backs off from her cooperation, citing her undercover assignment. This frustration leads to the detectives joining her operation which is protesting the plans for a mosque at Ground Zero at least that is what is supposed to be happening.
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December 29,
2010 |
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Episode 9: Gray
Stabler's participation in a Take Back the Night rally at Kathleen's campus results in an extra case for him and Benson when a student claims she was raped. Unfortunately, the case turns out to be a "he said-she said" type with little evidence. Enter Sonya Paxton, and it can only get more complicated.
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December 29,
2010 |
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Episode 18: Bedtime
Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Detective Eliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) are called to the scene of a crime where an investigative journalist has been found dead in her bed with an 'X' carved into her cheek. Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) recognizes the killer's tactics from a similar case thirty years earlier, when the 'Bedtime Butcher' murdered five women in the Bronx. The detectives soon meet a patrol cop (guest star Jaclyn Smith) who helps them track down a jealous ex-lover of the prime suspect (guest star Ann-Margret). Finally, Benson must go on a dangerous undercover mission to uncover the truth.
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December 25,
2010 |
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Episode 4: Merchandise
When a 15-year-old girl is hit by a car and killed, Detectives Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler (Meloni) are surprised when Dr. Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie) rules it a homicide. She has found signs that the girl was being starved, and had even recently given birth. As the two look into the case with the help of Detective Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) and Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong), they find that the girl had fallen victim to a human trafficking ring, and though some think it's a case for the FBI, the cops instead reach.
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December 22,
2010 |
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Episode 6: Branded
When detectives Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler (Meloni) investigate a brutal attack on an unassuming, upstanding father (guest star Michael Gladis), they find he's also been branded on his chest with a wire coat hanger. Before long, another victim turns up (guest star Kevin Alejandro) who has suffered the same injuries. Once they track down the suspect, some startling memories surface that completely change the course of the case.
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December 22,
2010 |
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Episode 3: Behave
A rape victim, Vicki (Hewitt), is brought into the hospital initially claiming she has been attacked multiple times by the same man. Detectives Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler (Meloni) are determined to help her, but she lives in such terror that she then denies she has been raped at all and refuses to submit to a rape kit. As Benson looks for a way to help, she is horrified to learn that there are police precincts and evidence labs across the country that never test their rape kits at all. The investigation soon leads her to Los Angeles where she meets Detective Rex Winters (guest star Skeet Ulrich), who has information that could finally help Vicki get justice.
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December 15,
2010 |
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Episode 11: Bulls Eye
The rape of a 10-year-old girl is so brutal it leaves her unable to recall her own name. Unfortunately, once Fin assists with the ID, the detectives find that she's not the only one with memory impairment, and Dr. Huang is brought in to assess her home situation. The case becomes more complicates when Erik Weber reappears, inserting himself where he might not belong, although he may be their only lead, with potentially explosive consequences.
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December 8,
2010 |
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Episode 10: Rescue
A rape case happens to turn up Vivian Arliss' name, and Benson, who has not given up trying to find Calvin's mother, wants on the investigation. When Cragen gives it to Tutuola and Munch instead, she will risk her job, defying his orders, because of the bond forming between her and Calvin.
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December 1,
2010 |
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Episode 9: Gray
Stabler's participation in a Take Back the Night rally at Kathleen's campus results in an extra case for him and Benson when a student claims she was raped. Unfortunately, the case turns out to be a "he said-she said" type with little evidence. Enter Sonya Paxton, and it can only get more complicated.
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November 17,
2010 |
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Episode 8: Penetration
Benson and Stabler are investigating who raped Agent Dana Lewis when she suddenly backs off from her cooperation, citing her undercover assignment. This frustration leads to the detectives joining her operation which is protesting the plans for a mosque at Ground Zero… at least that is what is supposed to be happening.
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November 10,
2010 |
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Episode 7: Trophy
Benson and Stabler investigate the rape and murder of a woman whose body is found at an industrial laundry facility. The detectives quickly catch up with the prime suspect, but the case ends up to be much more complicated than they thought when a bigger mystery is revealed and more victims are found.
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November 3,
2010 |