The Law & Order franchise has been running for many years and has incurred multiple spin-offs, which makes the potential for crossovers practically endless. The procedural format leaves plenty of room open for investigations across shows to blend into one another, as well as for characters to work together, or butt heads. Each spin-off, or related show, has its own take on how best to show the process of catching criminals, and incorporating multiple perspectives is always engaging.
Law & Order premiered in 1990, and its basic premise was showing both the investigation of criminals from the side of the police and how they are put away by the lawyers. Since then, crime shows have become increasingly popular, but Law & Order remains the quintessential example of the crime procedural. As crime has become more sophisticated over the years, and new types of crime have emerged, the franchise has kept up with the times and evolved to remain relevant across all the shows in its universe.
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Every Law & Order Series, Ranked By IMDb
Over the 32 years that the franchise has existed, Law & Order shows have found enduring appeal, even if some are more popular than others.
10 Entitled
SVU season 1, episode 15 – Law & Order season 10, episode 14
When the first season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered, it was inevitable that there would be a crossover with the original Law & Order. Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), a mainstay of SVU, partners with Detective Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), a veteran of Law & Order, when she comes upon an unsolved case that was once his. Both episodes were named “Entitled” for the respective shows, starting on SVU and concluding on Law & Order. As one of the prototypes for the franchise’s crossovers, “Entitled” effectively blends the casts of both shows and lent credibility to SVU when it was in its infancy.
9 Conventions / Comic Perversion
Chicago P.D. season 1, episode 6 – SVU season 15, episode 15
Later, SVU would take on the role of providing credibility, when a new series, Chicago P.D. came on the scene. In season 1, episode 6, “Conventions”, Chicago P.D. concludes an arc started on SVU season 15, episode 15, “Comic Perversion”. The story centers on the cultural reaction to sexual assault, a topic that SVU frequently comes into contact with. As a crossover, it doesn’t blend the shows very completely, as the characters of P.D. spend only a few minutes on SVU toward the end of “Comic Perversion”. However, as a story, the plots link well and serve as a strong beginning for P.D. as a series.
8 Night / Day
SVU season 6, episode 20 – Trial By Jury season 1, episode 11
One of the shorter-lived spin-offs was Trial By Jury, a show that changed the format and focused on the different cases made by lawyers on opposite sides of a trial. In SVU season 6, episode 20, “Night”, the story starts with Benson and Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) investigating a murder, and meeting a lawyer played by guest star Bradley Cooper. With Angela Landsbury also guest starring, the plot concludes in Trial By Jury season 1, episode 11, “Day”, as Landsbury’s character tries to protect her son, who is accused of murder. While Trial By Jury only ran for one season, this brief crossover was a highlight of the series.
7 Design / Flaw
SVU season 7, episode 2 – Law & Order season 16, episode 2
After the initial success of the crossovers between Law & Order and SVU, the two shows repeated this in the episodes “Design”, season 7, episode 2 of SVU, and “Flaw”, season 16, episode 2, of Law & Order. In “Design”, the SVU team investigates a supposed victim who has other sinister intentions, but the case goes cold. In “Flaw”, the detectives find Benson’s card with a victim, and they partner up to find the link in the cases. This is a strong crossover between SVU and Law & Order, as both episodes have a different spin on the case and are strong in their own right outside the appeal of the crossover.
6 Nationwide Manhunt / The Song Of Gregory Williams Yates
SVU season 17, episode 14 – Chicago P.D. season 3, episode 14
When a repeat criminal is featured in a procedural, it’s always a huge draw for critics and audiences. In SVU season 17, episode 14 “Nationwide Manhunt”, the criminal, Gregory Yates (Dallas Roberts) escapes from prison, and it’s up to the detectives to catch this notorious killer. During the hunt, they decide to turn to the Chicago P.D. team to help in their search after Yates is reported to be in Chicago. The teams on both shows work well together and repeat the success of earlier crossovers over the two episodes. While they find Yates in the end, his fate delivers a shocking conclusion to the story.
5 Baby, It’s You
Law & Order season 8, episode 6 – Homicide: Life On The Street season 6, episode 5
Homicide: Life on the Street ran for seven seasons with multiple crossovers between itself and the original Law & Order. Both episodes share the title “Baby, It’s You”, and part of the crossover’s broad appeal was it being loosely based on the real-life case of JonBenét Ramsey, whose investigation captured the nation’s attention. The teams follow the trail of the father of the victim, a teenage model, and their belief that the father is the perpetrator. The episode took many twists and turns, as with the actual events, and garnered a successful reputation in the crossover category.
4 We Called Her Jellybean / The Number Of Rats / Daydream Believer
Chicago Fire season 3, episode 21 – Chicago P.D. season 2, episode 20 – SVU season 16, episode 20
Though Gregory Yates’ story concludes with “The Song of Gregory William Yates”, he is first introduced in the three-part crossover event between Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and SVU. Benson is called in on Chicago Fire, to investigate an arson case that parallels an unsolved case in New York. This leads Benson to team up with the detectives on P.D. and then finishes with all the involved parties finding Yates in New York. Yates is sent to prison, but this victory is short-lived within the franchise, as Yates reappears not long after that.
3 Charm City / For God And Country
Law & Order season 6, episode 13, Homicide: Life On The Street season 4, episode 12
The first crossover between Law & Order and Homicide was in the dual episodes “Charm City” and “For God and Country”, which primarily deal with a bombing in New York. In Law & Order, the bombing is connected to another act of terror in Baltimore, and identified as a racially motivated act, committed by a white supremacist. The story is tied up in Homicide as the investigation of that previous bombing can finally be investigated and put to bed.
2 Return Of The Prodigal Son / What Happens In Puglia
SVU season 22, episode 9 – Organized Crime season 1, episode 1
Detective Stabler left SVU in season 12 and left for Italy to be with his wife and family. When Christopher Meloni was ready to return to Law & Order, he reentered the franchise. His return begins with the murder of his wife and coincides with the premiere of the spin-off, Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Stabler returns to solve his wife’s case and returns to law enforcement to stop organized crime syndicates. This was an emotional story for both the characters on SVU, and Stabler goes through a lot during the episodes. It was rewarding to see him return to the franchise as part of the new series, but how he arrived there was tragic.
1 Gimme Shelter
Law & Order season 22, episode 1 – Organized Crime season 3, episode 1 – SVU season 24, episode 1
Another three-way crossover between the original Law & Order, Law & Order: Organized Crime, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, “Gimme Shelter”, was an epic undertaking for the franchise. Detective Cosgrove (Jeffery Donvovan) begins the investigation of a young girl’s death in a shooting, and Detective Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) of Organized Crime joins him. When the pair decide there is more to the crime than the murder, Benson and Stabler are added to the mix, and the three teams end up busting an international crime ring.
