'Law & Order: SVU' Season 22: Release date, plot and all you need to know about NBC's returning procedural show

NBC's longest-running primetime drama is set to return for its 22nd season to the network in November
PUBLISHED OCT 27, 2020
'Law & Order: SVU' (NBC)
'Law & Order: SVU' (NBC)

TV's longest-running primetime drama, 'Law & Order: SVU' will return for its 22nd season to NBC in November. With a strong fanbase, the show's most recent episode, the season 21 finale after a shortened season due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, amassed over three million viewers.

An NBC crime drama, 'Law & Order: SVU' stars Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Kelli Giddish, and Peter Scanavino. Created by Dick Wolf, the police procedural series centers on Lt. Olivia Benson (Hargitay) and her elite squad of New York City Police Department detectives that includes Sergeant Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (T), Detective Amanda Rollins (Giddish), and Detective Dominick “Sonny” Carisi (Scanavino). They investigate crimes including sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence. Read on to know more details about the upcoming season of 'Law & Order: SVU'

Release date

'Law & Order: SVU' Season 22 will premiere on NBC on Thursday, November 12, at 9/8c.

Plot

Based out of the New York City Police Department's 16th precinct in Manhattan, 'Law & Order: SVU' delves into the dark side of the New York underworld as the detectives of a new elite force, the Special Victims Unit (SVU for short), investigate and prosecute various sexually oriented crimes including rape, pedophilia, and domestic violence. They also investigate the abuses of children, the disabled, and elderly victims of non-sexual crimes who require specialist handling, all while trying to balance the effects of the investigation on their own lives as they try not to let the dark side of these crimes affect them.

The unit also works with the Manhattan District Attorney's office as they prosecute cases and seek justice for SVU's victims and survivors with precision and a passion to win and bring closure to the intense investigations. The series often uses stories that are "ripped from the headlines" or based on real crimes. Such episodes take a real crime and fictionalize it by changing some details.

The plot for the Season 22 premiere episode is: "When the squad tries to solve an assault in Central Park, they are hampered by their own blind spots and a community that is losing trust in the police."

Cast

Mariska Hargitay

Mariska Hargitay (Getty Images)

Mariska Hargitay plays the lead detective Lt. Olivia Benson, the longest-running female character in a primetime live-action series. She won an Emmy award in 2006 for her performance and has been nominated on multiple occasions.

Ice-T

Ice-T (Getty Images)

Ice-T is an actor and musician best known for his roles in 'Law & Order: SVU' and 'Power'. He plays the role of NYPD detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola.

Kelli Giddish

Kelli Giddish (Getty Images)

Kelli Giddish is an actress best known for her roles in 'Law & Order: SVU' and 'All My Children'. She plays the role of NYPD detective Amanda Rollins.

Peter Scanavino

Peter Scanavino (Getty Images)

Peter Scanavino is an actor best known for his roles in 'Law & Order: SVU' and 'The Bedford Diaries'. He plays the role of former assistant District Attorney Dominick Carisi Jr.

Showrunner

Warren Leight

Warren Leight (Getty Images)

Warren Leight is a playwright, screenwriter, film director, and television producer. He is best known for his work on 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' and 'Lights Out'. He served as the showrunner for 'Law & Order: SVU' between 2011 and 2016 and returned as showrunner from Season 21.

Trailer

There is no trailer yet for the upcoming season of 'Law & Order: SVU' but watch this space for future updates.

If you like this, you'll like:

'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'

'Chicago PD'

'Chicago Fire'

'Law & Order True Crime'

'Law & Order: Trial by Jury'

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