Law & Order: SVU - What's Special about Special Victims Unit?

At the Paley Center in NY on September 25, 2019, the SVU team talk about what makes the series distinct among police procedurals, showrunner Warren Leight's return to the series and his unique narrative contributions, Ice T's funny Twitter habits, and why SVU's ever-evolving understanding of trauma and respect for survivors still matters 20 years on. The full conversation of this event is available at www.paleytv.org

[@williamjamesayers7719]

Law & Order is one of those shows keeping classic tv alive and kicking.

[@Ernie1978]

I love the show as it is. Carisi becoming the ADA and Benson now being Captain is brilliant!

[@dttruman]

Too bad they couldn't have come up with a better way to make it look legitimate. The way they did it here makes the show look like a cheap soap opera. Asking the viewers to believe everything they write no matter how far fetched is an insult to the viewers' intellect.

[@JWestwood]

When season 20 ended n it was announced it'd b back for Season 21. Making it the longest running crime drama in history brought a tear to my eye. Its a glorious thing.....

[@MichaelWallace-u5n]

Arse

[@Originella]

Ice getting up and trying to walk out and then Kelli grabbing him back is so funny

[@cathydecarles7084]

Law and order is the best show on tv I watch it over and over again

[@jeanettemccay]

the plot behind this show is so close to my heart love this show

[@yulitzavelasquez7294]

The Law and Order UVE is one of the impressive and exciting series the best that I have seen in my life did not stop seeing it. They are the best The entire cast is awesome especially Captain Olivia

[@Anne--Marie]

The writers have done a brilliant job on character development. The actors have done a brilliant job of bringing the writing to life. Everyone involved in the production deserves credit because this show is remarkable.

[@wykeishacraft6820]

They be good actors on the Law&Order SVU episodes , they are all great detectives

[@bernlin2000]

They took a great police procedural (the original L&O) and make it new somehow, not just with fresh characters (and Mariska is HUGE to this show), but with a different way of telling (even more serious) stories. While I love the split perspective of the original (between the police and the courts), SVU is much more intimate and personal.

[@jjprentiss9192]

Mariska is a giant reason the shows still going because if she left and Chris stayed it would’ve ended a while ago

[@claudinefaure9090]

And the new characters have good storylines also. It was brillant idea to turn Benson into a victim also ,,, these episodes had me on the edge of my chair and speaking to my TV screen.

[@Anne--Marie]

Agreed

[@martinadiclemente9477]

5:16 is where it gets hilarious 😆 I love ice t

[@cjhs2006]

I Just Started Watching SVU Again Like Early Mid Last Year,I Stopped Watching it After Season 12,it Hit me Hard When I Heard That Elliot Wasn’t Coming Back,But I’m Glad That I’ve Started Watching it Again Because Now I Love The New Characters,I Miss Barba,&,my OTP’s Barisi

[@natalielienhard7571]

Now fin should become lieutenant and rollins should become sergeant!

[@natalielienhard7571]

@@tcmusic6429 my bad

[@cgirl905]

It's actually lieutenant...and sergeant

[@parisgrizzard2529]

when they get more detectives on the show

[@freespiritxoxo7343]

@@parisgrizzard2529 anything for Selenass 🙏❤😉

[@AmourRosee]

What bout stabler

[@jackiesmith3684]

Ice t your a brilliant actor and rapper it's no wonder your the longest black actor on our screens and you are a lovely person with a beautiful wife and kid and so down to earth and the fact that you all are not just actors yous are all close friends and you all are like 1 big family I've loved watching your show and long may it carry on

[@haileyscrid367]

I loveeeee Mariska kelli peter and ice. amazing cast.

[@wykeishacraft6820]

All of them sitting on that stage together looking good and they could have all them playing on them episodes together

[@juliechildress8905]

Absolutely love this show. ❤❤❤

[@StarFighters76]

I really think it became a lot more serialized starting in Season 13. There some small bits, here and there, in the previous 12 seasons, but not as heavy as it is now.

[@lorihale129]

You messed up letting Rafael off season he was the best ADA

[@bugs1207]

Wow. One of my best friends was almost sexually assaulted. She is my inspiration, and idol! I hope someday I will have the amazing opportunity to meet her 😊

[@angedepasquale5228]

I love the whole cast

[@MrGameplayGirl]

"team up on the black men y'all see that"

[@MissT813]

My all time favorite serial. Ice T amazes me each week. I don't like him or his music, but I love Odafin Tutuola.

[@jasonbabcock7364]

That's odd because I thought I was the only person on earth that really could either take him or leave him ( meaning Ice) but regarding Fin.... Well that's a completely different person.. In a way that's good because it speaks to how well his acting must be to have the ability to capture the heart of a viewer who's not particularly fond of the actor himself.. hope I explained that right..

[@Chloe-sb5ww]

Can you put the full interview up please?

[@danielam.]

Siete fantastici da Firenze, dall'Italia, vi guardo sempre vi adoro!

[@bernlin2000]

5:23 Like bickering brothers and sisters XD

[@Starlexis8]

Me 2 = Me 3 24 = ME4 = Renaissance after the Gerat Depression of a past , but new life.

[@karenthompson3735]

Mariska Hargitay and Ice T= Law and order svu No Mariska Hargitay and no Ice T= Law and order svu is done. Rating going go down. Also if one leaves the show the other does too so yh

[@alexl9334]

Best theme. Best stories. Showed us the pervasive side of a crime.

[@wykeishacraft6820]

They could have each one them in all the episodes instead of different episodes .

[@carlesbofarullandreu497]

Magnífica serie de televisión

[@JaviFabregasGarcia]

Capitan Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) Sergeant Fin Tutuola (Ice-T) ADA Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) Detective Amanda Rollins (Rollins)

[@stella2216106]

Where can I watch this for free ??

[@gabrielabarros5910]

Moviebox app

[@kennedy4257]

NBC App or Website. They upload the full episodes free. You just sign up and you get a few tokens. You may have to make several accounts to be able to watch all episodes of the season for free on the website or app.. they give you free watch tokens if you sign up and the sign up is free they don’t ask for bank or credit information.

[@Princessssanunu]

Hulu

[@antwasiah8688]

@@Princessssanunu you have to pay for hulu tho so is it really free?💀

[@yinkasokoya4727]

Love SVU! It would have been great to hear from the other actors too.🤗

[@Starlexis8]

My brain turned on like t-mobile Google aol

[@maritzabrito5268]

Subtítulos en español, please

[@janicebenson7557]

Awesome

[@happylife5654]

ice T just looks like my uncle this is so crazy

[@alexandraanderson3988]

Lol 😄😄😄 Is that a good thing or not?

[@krystalmcguffie9766]

Mines too lol

[@lorihale129]

Why put ppl on the panel & hardly the rest talk? Mine as well stayed home..lol

[@karaoke.memphis]

Opening comment, Right. "On stage, in character." Walt Disney. tremendous 20+ seasons evolve I have only at 2017's end discovered. I've cognitive context coherence throughout torturous tech-laden malevolent use of 'invisible wireless' Difficult is while truth telling, pop-culture and TV followers reply as if delusional or in effect dismiss. Various, malicious heckling voices have persisted and can only have been applied by design. Ideas to 'fix it' by technology F'd Up!

[@pricillaruiz9887]

Law order SVU and Olivia Benson you like lce t boy friend lce t you like Olivia Benson girlfriend

[@startaylor1571]

Until you 🤚

[@dttruman]

If SVU is so great, why have the ratings steadily dropped over the years using Warren Leight's unique narratives? The first 8-10 years were the best. Why not go back to the old format where the main focus of the show was the investigation of special victims, not the professional (and/or personal) life of Benson or a bias narrative of a political or social issue?

[@AngelLoveQuinnx]

dttruman I think it’s because we as viewers have gotten attached to the characters especially Liv so after a while only seeing the investigation would be boring. It also shows why they do the things they do and how they react to certain investigations. I love the mix.

[@dttruman]

@@AngelLoveQuinnx Yes, it is nice to see a personal situation take place every now and then, but when the cast is reduced to a bare minimum, those personal moments are about the four cast members. But almost all of them seem to be about one person. It's always some kind of crisis with Benson, each week. I don't know about you, but I am getting a little tired of Benson telling the victims, "It's not your fault". If you saw yesterday's episode "The Dark Journey Home", you might think this it is part of the victim's fault.

[@rawrbabez3]

i think it's hard for a showrunner to admit they're the reason for the downfall of their show, their baby. i also agree seasons 1-13 were the best, and after that it went a little downhill and these last 3 or 4 seasons are not the best and seem poorly written/formatted. i think they should go back to the old format for a few episodes and see if ratings go up, and if they do there's your proof that the old way was better

[@dttruman]

@@rawrbabez3 I agree. Most episodes start off with a good premise, but then it segues to something personal concerning Benson (or Rollins) or something political or social. I don't mind an episode every now and then concerning a specific detective, but every week Benson gets overly involved.

[@iloveprettygirls9543]

The tv/movie industry have change throughout the years. There are shows that been out for years like grey anatomy and others shows that don’t bring in the same rating from when they first came out. Most shows that been out for 15 to 20 years aren’t the same even the shows they bring back.The new shows and funny unrealistic shows are bringing in more rating. After Eliot Stabler left that when the producer Neal Baer left he produced most of the good episodes. Law and order writers been changing throughout the years.Plus no one watches regular tv anymore. The only reason why it’s still on because mariska. Most rape victims who watch this show thinks she and her character is a hero and they can relate to her. The reason why this show is still on air because the shows is still bringing in a lot of money and it’s one of NBC biggest show.u ever wonder why mariska be one of the top paid female actresses?And I believe when stabler was on the show it involved around him and Olivia because they was the stars and the cases but they weren’t in every episode. now that stabler left they wanted a change mariska had to be in every episode and the main focus and now she’s directing. Most people use to write letters to the tv company to get law and order off of the air in the past because they said the topics they talk about and the content are too disgusting and sick for tv. I think they want this change for the new audience and they love it. I think law and order is still good with the topics they choose like the BLM incident in season 15.

[@Starlexis8]

Justice ⚖️ Omega 3 Sociology and nutrition Biology.

[@karenabusaleh5272]

I stopped watching this show a few seasons back because there were too many political views/references played out in the episodes that bothered me. I just wish the entertainment industry would just keep their views out of their shows. And that goes for conservative or liberal.

[@audreyo6069]

Yeah I hope they leave the conversative influences out.

[@dttruman]

Yes, their skewed views of political and social issues made it so obviously bias. "Zero Tolerance" was the epitome of biased.

[@jazzicaidamarie3341]

Karen Abusaleh you do know they get a lot of their storylines from the real headlines right? That also includes political stuff and that’s nothing knew about the show.

[@dttruman]

@@jazzicaidamarie3341 Yes, but they have a tendency to present it in a bias form and sometimes it makes the whole episode unbelievable, even to the novice.

[@iloveprettygirls9543]

Jazzica Idamarie exactly

[@wandaflores6136]

This series needs fresh air , is the same picture needs new faces like others character Benson is pathetic and is the only is perfect, .where Raúl Esparza? Where Philip Wichester? Those are very good actors I think something happend when

[@Hudpix16]

Please work on your grammar. Your are not making much sense.

[@hiimchris9464]

Wanda shut up and go take a nap. No one understands what the hell you're saying.

[@wandaflores6136]

Well , I don't care if you understand or not , is not for you

[@queenheart6167]

@@hiimchris9464 if you hadn't understood what she wrote, you wouldn't have responded the way you did.

[@amentheaiengine5166]

They left, remember?