Dick Wolf probably didn't know he was building a secular religion back in 1990. When the first episode of Law & Order aired on NBC, it was just a gritty, split-format experiment. Now? It’s a monster. If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in a "dun-dun" marathon on a rainy Tuesday, you’ve likely wondered exactly how many episodes of Law & Order are there to actually get through.
The number is big. Like, "don't quit your day job if you plan on watching them all" big.
As of early 2026, the mothership series—that's the original Law & Order—has aired over 500 episodes. Specifically, with the conclusion of its most recent broadcast cycle, the count stands at 510 episodes. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. If you include the spin-offs like SVU, Criminal Intent, and the short-lived experiments, you aren't just looking at a few hundred hours of television. You’re looking at a lifestyle.
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Breaking Down the Numbers: The Mothership and Beyond
Let’s get the math out of the way first. It's not just one show. It’s a franchise, a "Dun-Dun-iverse."
The original Law & Order ran for 20 seasons, got canceled in 2010, stayed dead for twelve years, and then rose from the grave in 2022. That revival changed everything for collectors and completionists. Before the revival, we were stuck at 456. Now, we’ve surged past the 500-mark.
Then there is Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
SVU is the overachiever. It surpassed the original series years ago and shows no signs of stopping. Mariska Hargitay has been playing Olivia Benson for over 25 years. That’s longer than some of the show's viewers have been alive. SVU has aired over 550 episodes. When you combine just those two shows, you’re already hovering around the 1,000-episode milestone. Honestly, it’s a staggering amount of jurisdictional drama.
The Spin-Off Graveyard and Survivors
It isn’t just the big two, though. To answer how many episodes of Law & Order are there across the whole brand, you have to dig into the crates.
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent gave us 195 episodes of Vincent D'Onofrio tilting his head at suspects.
- Law & Order: Organized Crime is the newer, serialized kid on the block, adding over 60 episodes to the pile.
- Law & Order: Trial by Jury was a blip. It only lasted 13 episodes.
- Law & Order: LA? Just 22 episodes before it folded.
- Law & Order True Crime, which focused on the Menendez brothers, added another 8.
If you add the international versions—like Law & Order: UK (45 episodes) or the newer Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent—the number starts to feel infinite. For the domestic U.S. franchise alone, the total is well over 1,350 episodes.
Why the Episode Count Actually Matters
People don't just watch this show; they inhabit it. The "episode count" isn't just a statistic for NBC’s accounting department. It represents a massive archive of American cultural history.
Think about it. The early episodes from the 90s show a New York City that doesn't really exist anymore. Payphones. Huge cellular bricks. No DNA testing. As the episode count climbed, the show evolved. You can literally track the progression of forensic science and social norms by bingeing from season one of the mothership through the current seasons of SVU.
It’s a time capsule.
Also, the sheer volume is why the show is the king of syndication. You can turn on a TV in a hotel room in Montana or a bar in London, and there is a 40% chance an episode of Law & Order is playing. Because there are over 1,300 stories to choose from, the "repeat" factor doesn't burn out the audience. You might not see the same episode twice for three years.
The "Ripped from the Headlines" Engine
The reason the episode count keeps growing is the "Ripped from the Headlines" strategy. Dick Wolf's writers don't have to sit in a room and invent drama. They just open a newspaper—or, these days, scroll through social media.
If a celebrity gets caught in a weird crypto scam today, there will be a Law & Order episode about a "digital currency mogul" found dead in a penthouse by next October. This infinite supply of real-world inspiration means the show never hits a creative wall. As long as people keep committing weird crimes, the writers have a job.
The Logistics of a Mega-Binge
So, you want to watch every single one? Good luck.
If you sat down and watched every episode of the U.S. franchise back-to-back without sleeping, eating, or screaming into a pillow, it would take you roughly 40 days. That’s 40 days of pure, unadulterated "Order."
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Most people don't do that. They graze. They find their favorite "era." Maybe you’re a Jerry Orbach loyalist. Maybe you only care about the Stabler and Benson tension. The beauty of having over 1,000 episodes is that you can curate your own experience.
Where to Start Your Journey
If the total count of how many episodes of Law & Order are there feels overwhelming, don't try to start at the beginning. That’s a rookie mistake.
- The Gold Standard Era: Seasons 5 through 10 of the original series. This is where the chemistry was perfect, the writing was sharp, and the New York atmosphere was at its peak.
- The SVU Rise: Seasons 2 through 7 of Special Victims Unit. This is when the show found its soul and started tackling the heavy hitters.
- The Modern Revival: If you want high-definition and modern politics, jump straight to Season 21 of the original show (2022). It’s a different vibe, but it’s the same bones.
The Future of the Count
The numbers I gave you today will be wrong by next month. That’s the nature of a living franchise. With Law & Order and SVU both renewed and Organized Crime moving to Peacock, the count grows by about 40 to 60 episodes every single year.
We are rapidly approaching a world where there are 1,500 episodes of this thing.
It’s become more than a show. It’s a reliable constant in an unreliable world. The detectives might change, the DAs might get voted out, and the technology might get sleeker, but that "dun-dun" sound remains the same. It’s comforting. Even when the subject matter is gruesome, there’s a formulaic peace to it. You know that by the 42-minute mark, there’s going to be a trial, and by the 58-minute mark, a verdict.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you're looking to dive into this massive catalog, stop searching for a "complete" box set. It doesn't really exist in a practical way because the show is still happening.
Instead, leverage streaming. Peacock is currently the primary home for the franchise, though various seasons drift between Hulu and Amazon depending on licensing deals. For the purists, nothing beats the local ION Mystery or USA Network marathons.
To keep track of your progress, use a dedicated TV tracking app like TV Time or Letterboxd (though Letterboxd is mostly for movies, people use it for limited series too). Manually counting 1,300 episodes is a recipe for a headache.
Start with the "crossover" events. These are the episodes where the cast of SVU meets the cast of the original show or Organized Crime. It’s the best way to see how the different branches of the franchise connect without feeling like you're drowning in data. Focus on the "Law" for an hour, then follow the "Order" for the next.
The count is high, but the quality—mostly—stays remarkably consistent. Whether you're in it for the legal gymnastics or the gritty police work, there’s always another episode waiting.
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