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The Law & Order franchise has been running for many years and has incurred multiple spin-offs, which makes the potential for Law & Order 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 the lawyers put them away. 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.
15 "People vs. Richard Wheatley" / "The Christmas Episode"
SVU Season 23, Episode 9 - Organized Crime Season 2, Episode 9
The first season of Law & Order: Organized Crime saw Elliot Stabler come out of retirement after someone murdered his wife in a car explosion. He agrees to take a role in the organized crime unit and starts investigating cases for them while also looking into his wife's murder. This shocked Olivia Benson since Stabler quit as her partner and left without saying a word before disappearing. After the two met up and worked together again in the first season of Organized Crime, this was their second crossover.
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Over the 32 years that the franchise has existed, Law & Order shows have found enduring appeal, even if some are more popular than others.
This was also a special crossover because Stabler needed Olivia more than ever since he finally had his wife's murderer on trial for her death. To add to the stakes of this Law & Order crossover, SVU's former ADA Rafael Barba is back, but this time, he is representing the defendant. The character development here is great, as it features the explosive confrontation in which Olivia finally calls out Stabler for leaving without a word and tells Barba she will never forgive him for representing Wheatley.
14 "Chicago Crossover" / "Nobody Touches Anything" / "They'll Have To Go Through Me"
SVU Season 16, Episode 7 - Chicago Fire Season 3, Episode 7 - Chicago P.D. Season 2, Episode 7
This three-way crossover was the first time all three shows (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Chicago Fire, and Chicago PD) crossed over with one long overarching storyline. Previous crossovers between the Law & Order and One Chicago worlds often present two cases with a common connection. However, here, both law enforcement teams (and the fire department) work together to solve a child pornography case.
Lindsay reaches out to Olivia Benson for help.
The Chicago Fire episode had a house fire where the team found child pornography and turned it over to the Chicago Police Department. This brought in Detective Erin Lindsay from Chicago PD to take the lead on the case. However, she has a half-brother who lives in New York City, and she realizes there is a connection between this case and him, so Lindsay reaches out to Olivia Benson for help. Working together through the three episodes, the two police teams bust the criminal.
13 "Bad Things" / "Shadowerk" / "All Pain is One Malady" / "With Many Names"
SVU Season 24, Episode 21 - Organized Crime Season 3, Episode 21 - SVU Season 24, Episode 22 - Organized Crime Season 3, Episode 22
This is a four-episode crossover between SVU and Organized Crime, with two episodes on each show. To make this pay off, the case must be complicated, and the setup here throws the detectives for a loop. A series of crimes look almost identical, but the problem is that there is different DNA at each crime scene. However, the detectives realize the similarities might prove that one person is responsible for all the crimes, but they use different people to pull them off.
Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler team up with each other to look into the crimes and find a connection with a revenge-for-hire scheme while also connecting to a rape investigation (Benson's SVU team) and an unsolved murder (Stabler's Organized Crime team). This is also a unique Law & Order crossover event since it wasn't in the middle of the season but was the two-part finale for each of the shows, including losing some key cast members.
12 "Trick-Rolled At The Moulin" / "An Inferior Product"
SVU Season 22, Episode 13 - Organized Crime Season 1, Episode 5
Fans of Law & Order: SVU had been waiting a decade to finally see Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler reunite, and the first season of Organized Crime featured the Law & Order crossover episodes that saw them working a case together for the first time in years. Law & Order: SVU started with a suspicious death noted as an overdose. However, as the team was investigating the overdose, they started looking for a specific drug known as "Purple Magic," which Richard Wheatley sells.
Wheatley is the main villain in the first two seasons of Organized Crime, played by Dylan McDermott. He ran an online pharmaceutical company, and the organized crime unit believed he was involved in illegal operations with the company. He was also the person suspected of killing Stabler's wife, Kathy. The drugs the police were investigating in this episode all tied in with Kathy's death, and this was the start of Stabler finally finding justice for his wife's death.
11 "For a Few Leke More" / "Fast Times @TheWheelHouse" / "The Good, the Bad, and the Lovely"
Organized Crime Season 2, Episode 4 - SVU Season 23, Episode 5 - Organized Crime Season 2, Episode 5
In their 23rd and second seasons, Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime had two different crossover events. The second crossover had Benson and Stabler finally having their explosive confrontation concerning Elliot leaving her without a word. However, the first episode focused more on a current case that brought them together for a common cause. Elliot was undercover with the Albanian mob and slept with the gang leader's wife to protect his identity. He was easily getting deep undercover.
It turns out the woman Stabler slept with is involved in this sex trafficking ring.
This relates to a case Olivia is working on: she is trying to find an Albanian waitress named Rita Lasku. When one of the people she interviews tells her about a trafficking ring, it leads her to the organized crime unit to bring it down. When it turns out the woman Stabler slept with is involved in this sex trafficking ring, it starts to show Stabler that his decisions while undercover are not always a positive experience.
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 blended the casts of both shows and lent credibility to SVU when it was in its infancy. The original case saw Lenny and his retired partner, Mike Logan, unable to solve it. While they couldn't find the killers then, Olivia, joining up with Lenny, finally found who did it, although the jury refused to convict the guilty party. The episode also had the bonus of seeing Captain Cragen return to the 27th precinct.
9 "Conventions" / "Comic Perversion"
Chicago P.D. season 1, episode 6 - SVU season 15, episode 15
Later, SVU would provide 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 in SVU season 15, episode 15, "Comic Perversion." The story centers on the cultural reaction to sexual assault, a topic that SVU frequently encounters. In this Chicago P.D. episode, a woman protests against a comedian making jokes about sexual assault, only for the comedian to later sexually assault her.
After his conviction, it led to a follow-up on SVU. Detective Erin Lindsay approaches Detective Olivia Benson, seeking information on another rapist. Detective Tutola then helps Rollins assist Detective Voight and Antonio in finding a serial rapist. 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 Stabler investigating a murder and meeting a lawyer played by guest star Bradley Cooper. This leads to a serious issue as it revolves around the sexual assault of illegal immigrants who are too scared to report the crimes due to the risk of deportation.
Angela Lansbury also guest-starred in Trial by Jury, season 1, episode 11, "Day," where the plot concludes as Lansbury'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 series highlight. The biggest selling point here was the shocking assault of ADA Casey Novak and her removal from the case, forcing ADA Kibre to lead the prosecution and bring the guilty to justice.
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 partner up to find the link in the two 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. What really helps raise these episodes is the perp, April Troost, is someone who got away with her crimes before, and now Olivia has a chance to put her away. But when she finds out that April isn't working alone, it adds another level to the mystery.
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. This is equally important since Yates killed one of Chicago's own, so they have a stake in the case.
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. Voight and Benson have to work together, and since they both have a strong connection to Yates, it creates one of the most intense crossovers in Law & Order history.
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 L aw & 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.
As with the actual events, the episode took many twists and turns and garnered a successful reputation in the crossover category. Unlike the real-life case, where Ramsey's parents were cleared of all charges, this one had some dark revelations that saw the attention turn from the father to the mother as Detectives Briscoe and Curtis team up with Homicide Detectives Falsone and Munch in the Baltimore investigation.
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. Olivia Benson is called in on the Chicago Fire episode 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 he reappears not long after that. This crossover also includes a tragic moment, as Yates kills Chicago PD's Nadia Decotis, and ADA Rafael Barba goes to bat in court to bring Yates to justice and bring closure to Decostis' murder case. This remains notable since it brought the two One Chicago shows into the world of Law & Order and tied the Dick Wolf franchises together.
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: Life on the Street 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 five years before. It was 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.
This offered up a fun crossover in that it brought Detective John Munch into the Law & Order stratosphere, where he ended up moving to when Homicide ended its run so his story could continue. The only thing that pulls this episode down is that the detectives clash a little too much for added drama, where they could have done better if they worked closer together from the start.
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 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. Seeing him return to the franchise as part of the new series was rewarding, but how he arrived there was tragic. This was a very important Law & Order crossover since it finally reunited Sabler and Benson after the former left without saying goodbye a decade earlier. While they didn't finally settle their differences until later, this was a perfect first step.
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 Donovan) 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. Soon, Stabler and Benson join the case when it turns out this is more than just a homicide, and it takes all three units to bring the suspects in. Finally, McCoy and Price have to work together to find justice, and the complex case makes this one Law & Order crossover event that requires all the units to work together.
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