LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT Vet Neal Baer Looks Back on Season 12: ‘Locum,’ ‘Bullseye,’ ‘Behave,’ and ‘Merchandise’

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT — “Season 25 Anniversary Party” — Pictured: (l-r) Grant Schleifer, Neal Baer at Edge at Hudson Yards on January 16, 2024 — (Photo by: Cindy Ord/NBC)

For nearly 25 years, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT has been a television institution. Debuting on Monday, ​​September 20, 1999, the Dick Wolf-created series has aired over 550 episodes (and counting), as members of the Special Victims Unit fought for justice on behalf of survivors of sexual assault, domestic abuse, and other sensitive topics.

Throughout the show’s 25 seasons, there have been hundreds of cases, nearly two dozen series regulars (Mariska Hargitay is the sole original series regular to remain with the show in every season; her former co-lead, Christopher Meloni, now stars in the SVU spinoff ORGANIZED CRIME), and variations of how the writers showcased their stories. (Season 1, for instance, leaned more heavily into the characters’ personal lives; season 25 had a case that lasted for the duration intermingled with standalone cases.)

But, arguably, season 12 (which aired from 2010-2011) was the most structurally complex batch of episodes the show has done thus far. Though the series had flirted with arcs in the past—including Stabler’s divorce and eventual reconciliation with his wife, Benson’s temporary hiatus from the squad (twice), plus, her PTSD from a traumatic close call on the job—the 24-episode season had multiple arcs (personal and professional), the series had crossovers with sister series LAW & ORDER: LOS ANGELES, a couple of recurring characters were brought back and killed off, and a season 7 case was brought back in an unusual way. Read more