MAIN Pop Culture Television Law and Order: SVU

"Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" premiered on September 20, 1999.

Since then, week after week people tune in on Wednesay nights at 10 pm to see detectives assigned to "special victims" of sexually-based offenses hunt down and arrest the felon of a particularly heinous crime. Will they catch the perp?

Every week, millions of fans follow the plot line and their favorite characters who make up the cast. They include Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and up until 2011 Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) whose character was written off after Meloni left in a contract dispute to the disappointment of SVU fans everywhere. But the show must go on, and crimes must be solved!

Rounding out the top notch team of crime solvers are Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino), Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer), and Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Ice-T). They are headed up by Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) completing the star cast that delivers the goods to millions of die-hard fans each week.

With its huge audience in the US, Canada, and around the world, the show has also attracted guest appearances from a roster of stars throughout its long run. Notable guests who have shown up on the set to join the show (for at least an episode) include Carol Burnett, Kathy Griffin, Stephen Rea, David Alan Grier, Harry Connick, Jr., and the list keeps on growing.

You never know who will show up - or what will happen - each week on Law and Order SVU, and that's what keeps us tuning in...

More about Law and Order SVU around the Web:

Law and Order SVU - NBC.com - The official site for anything you need to know including video clips, bios and pics of the characters and the people who play them. Recaps for any and every episode from every season.

USA Network - Law and Order SVU - Gives a brief summary of show and cast list. Actor and character bios. Check the schedule for times and get a daily dose of SVU action on the USA channel. Then go to the message board and see what others are saying.

Law and Order - Wikipedia - Detailed summary of show and complete list of main and supporting characters, interesting fun facts and behind-the-scenes detail, related resources.

IMDB.com - Law and Order SVU - Great photos and bios of current and recurring characters. Trivia, quotes, the show's tagline, viewer comments, and bloopers. Do you know what the show is called in New Zealand? Find out here....

TV. com - Law and Order SVU - Bios, episode recaps, pics, and add your own two cents in the review section. Is there more explicit adult content in today's television shows? Read more in the news section...

Law and Order SVU - CTV.ca - Good background of the show airing in Canada. and video clips to give you a taste of the drama.