17 Photos Of The Law & Order: SVU Cast Then & Now

It’s hard to believe that Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered all the way back in 1999 — making it the longest-running primetime, live-action series in television history. As you wait for the show to return following its Dec. 8 fall finale, here’s 23 years of SVU history.

Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay first portrayed Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson in Season 1 — and 23 years of shipping later, their will-they-won’t-they slow burn is still strong as ever.