Every Law & Order Series, Ranked By IMDb

Ever since the original Law & Order debuted in 1990, there has been at least one show carrying the Law & Order name on the air. Besides the iconic “dun-dun” riff that has become so synonymous with the shows that merely humming it reminds viewers of the shows, it has also produced several notable, long-lasting characters, like Sam Waterston’s Jack McCoy and Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson.

Just because it’s an iconic franchise, however, doesn’t mean that everything it produced has found equal favor with IMDb users, who have pretty definite opinions about each series’ quality.

Law & Order: Trial By Jury – 6.4

Considering that half of the Law & Order shows’ focus is on the prosecution of crimes, it seemed like a simple idea for a show to revolve entirely around that, which is where Trial by Jury originated.

Pitched as a show focused solely around the trial aspect, Trial by Jury debuted in 2005 and lasted only for one season. Even a crossover with Special Victims Unit couldn’t save the show from low performance, and in fact, this hurts SVU fans of today, since finding the TBJ half of the crossover on streaming services is nearly impossible.

Law & Order: Los Angeles – 6.7

Another show to shake up the Law & Order formula while also getting its start through Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Los Angeles moved from the New York setting to the other side of the country, where it could take what viewers loved about Law & Order to Hollywood’s backdoor.

Although Law & Order gave several Hollywood actors their start, it seems that Hollywood didn’t repay the favor, with Los Angeles likewise only lasting a single season and getting the second-lowest average of all L&O shows. Perhaps this little exposure is part of why the ratings are so low, or maybe the ratings reflect the quality that led to these shows getting canceled in the first place.

Law & Order: True Crime – 7.3

Riding the wave of the mid-to-late 2010s craze for the true-crime format, Law & Order dipped its toes into the water with the aptly-named True Crime. Taking as its basis real-life cases and dramatizing them with actors, it takes the Law & Order “ripped from the headlines” mantra to a whole new level.

Its success seemed assured, and American Crime Story provided a kind of template for how it could work. The show was decently rated for IMDb, and although there has been no second season after The Menendez Murders, there is no evidence of NBC has officially canceled the show, although as more than 4 years have passed, it’s probably safe to say it is.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent – 7.5

The second spin-off of the hit Law & Order series, Criminal Intent debuted in 2001, with a focus on moving away from the case-of-the-week format and instead of featuring more character drama and interconnectedness between episodes than had previously been seen.

However, Criminal Intent was moved to USA Network in its 7th season because of a ratings decline on NBC, which is where it remained for the rest of its run. While its attempt to try something new in the franchise was admirable and got some IMDb users’ affection, it wasn’t enough to make this show a network mainstay.

Law & Order: UK – 7.7

The only spin-off to carry the English-language Law & Order branding outside of the United States, Law & Order: UK had some great episodes, and also deviated from the L&O formula, although part of its deviation made sense in that it was based in the United Kingdom, and therefore police procedure would naturally be different.

Although it didn’t gain as large of a fanbase in the U.S. as some other Law & Order shows, due to it not airing on NBC, it still manages to stand out in the franchise, and for those with enough interest to rate it on IMDb, earned a comparatively high rating.

Law & Order: Organized Crime – 7.8

After ten years away from his original show, Special Victims Unit, Elliot Stabler returns a changed man in Organized Crime, after appearing in an episode of Special Victims Unit where he loses his wife to a car bomb. This leads to the Organized Crime spin-off, where Stabler must solve his wife’s murder while continuing to hunt down organized-crime operations.

Organized Crime leans into its ongoing stories, reflecting the change in TV’s focus to serialized storytelling in the wake of shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and Netflix originals. What’s most commendable about it, though, is how it deals with Stabler in a world where his previous actions are unacceptable, and how it uses his character to reflect greater issues, while also providing compelling drama.

Law & Order – 7.8

There would be no franchise without Law & Order. Debuting in 1990 and lasting in its original run until 2010 before returning in 2022, Law & Order created a franchise that not only spans the series carrying its name, but the TV movie Exiled (6.4 on IMDb), and the Chicago and FBI franchises. Law & Order also allowed for John Munch to join SVU by crossing over with his original show, Homicide: Life on the Street.

Although later seasons tend to feel formulaic to some extent, in part because of the show’s long run, it still managed to be beloved by viewers around the country and even the world. It remains to be seen how the revival will fare, but even if it doesn’t succeed, the Law & Order name will still carry impressive weight.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – 8.1

It’s no stretch to say that Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is the most successful live-action television spin-off in history. Spanning 23 seasons and more than 500 episodes, SVU came to dominate the Law & Order franchise, especially after the original went off the air in 2010.

Its timely themes are part of its endurance, but another is SVU‘s stellar cast of likable main characters, topped off by Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson, who has appeared on every season of the show and become its defining character, as well as a cultural icon. For IMDb and American culture as a whole, there’s little chance SVU will ever be forgotten if and when it stops airing.

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