The Untold Truth Of Law And Order: SVU

For more than 16 years and 400 episodes, the NBC procedural Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit has captivated television audiences with hard-hitting stories of murder and sexual
assault "ripped from the headlines."
With that many installments in the can, there are sure to be some interesting facts about
the massively popular show's history, cast, and crew.
"These are their stories."
Sex change
Back in 1999, Dick Wolf, creator of the original Law & Order, initially planned for his new
series to be called Law & Order: Sex Crimes.
"I don't like the sound of that."
And neither did the production studio head at the time, who didn't want "sex" in the
title.
So Wolf went with the actual NYPD sex crimes unit's official name — Special Victims Unit
— honoring the real-life officers who investigate sexually-based offenses in all of New York
City's five boroughs.
Trial run
Rapper and actor Ice-T has played Detective Fin Tutuola for more than 16 seasons, becoming
a fan favorite for his portrayal of the streetsmart, no-nonsense detective …
"First, spit that lollipop out before I smack it out your mouth."
… but Fin's long-term presence on the show almost never happened.
The rapper only agreed to four episodes at first because he was concerned about the "brutal"
shooting schedule, saying in his memoir "I'd rather have less money and more freedom."
But Ice-T signed on for the long haul after he was reassured that, as part of an ensemble
cast, the hours wouldn't be grueling and the residuals he'd earn as a series regular on
a potentially long-running show would earn him a steady post-show income.
Just like — to quote Ice — a "little money machine."
Crossover king
The addition of actor Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch made SVU the only primetime television
drama ever to technically be spun off from two separate shows.
The Munch character was previously in Homicide: Life on the Street and also had a four-episode
run on the original Law & Order.
Munch has appeared in ten different television programs across five different networks, including
appearances in The Wire, Arrested Development, and even The X-Files …
"Why is a detective from another network tracking down extra-terrestrials on FOX?"
"What I'm looking at here is an FBI agent who likes to talk about space aliens."
Not just an act
Shortly after being cast in the series as Olivia Benson in 1999, actress Mariska Hargitay
actually became a trained rape-victim advocate.
She made the decision after her fan mail switched from autograph requests to real life victims
sharing their stories with the woman behind the fictional detective ...
"You survived the abuse, Gia.
You're gonna survive the recovery."
Her dedication to victims of sexual assault didn't stop there — Hargitay established
the non-profit Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004.
The charity provides support to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and
child abuse.
The foundation even brought experts in the field together with the writers and producers
of SVU to help craft storylines for the show.
The Trump episode
A "ripped from the headlines" 2016 SVU episode about a presidential candidate accused of
sexual misconduct was set to air on October 12th …
"I'm a handsome, charming millionaire.
Women throw themselves at me."
… but the episode was ripped from the schedule and postponed for undisclosed reasons, and
may never air at all.
Some speculate it may be shelved permanently because, a few days prior to the episode's
original airdate, the infamous bombshell Access Hollywood tape featuring then-presidential
candidate Donald Trump was leaked to the press.
"And when you're a star they let you do it.
You can do anything."
"Whatever you want."
Meanwhile, Ice-T says the lost episode wasn't one of the show's best, and he thinks they
got rid of it because it was too on-the-nose.
But he also adds, "They paid me for it.
I don't give a f---, really.
I got my money!"
Name game
For the first 11 seasons of SVU, the vast majority of episode titles were just one word
long.
But beginning in Season 13, keen-eyed viewers began to notice a pattern …
"Police work."
Starting in the 13th season, episode titles were all two words, always with the same number
of letters as the number of the current season.
So "Acceptable Loss" from season 14 is 14 letters long and "Manhattan Transfer" from
season 17 is 17 letters long, and so forth.
That's pretty cool, right?
"Don't look at me.
I just know stuff."
But when Season 18 premiered in late 2016, the titles stopped following a specific pattern
... or did they?
"Tell me we have a lead."
"Stone cold 'No.”
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The Untold Truth Of Law And Order: SVU

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