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.

Hargitay has been vocal about the impact of playing Benson. “One of the major things I've heard [from viewers] over the 20 years is ‘I wish you were the detective on my case,’” she said at the 2018 Tribeca TV Festival.

“I think our show in many ways is an ideal unit of how we wish sexual assault and domestic violence was met in the world,” she continued. “Survivors are believed. Period.”

Christopher Meloni played Stabler for 12 seasons before departing in 2011 due to contract disputes, he later told Men’s Health.

Meloni thrilled fans when he returned to the franchise a decade later, helming the Organized Crime spinoff while appearing with Benson on SVU proper.

Ice-T debuted as Fin Tutuola in SVU Season 2, supplying the show with countless quotable moments throughout his tenure.

Ice-T still stars on SVU today, and by sheer episode count, he is one of the show’s longest-running stars (second only to Hargitay, of course).

Tamara Tunie, Richard Belzer, and Dann Florek portrayed Melinda Warner, John Munch, and Donald Cragen, respectively.

Belzer retired from acting in 2016.

Florek recently reprised his role in Organized Crime.

Tunie will play Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston’s mother, in the upcoming biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody.

BD Wong played George Huang, beginning with SVU Season 2.

Since leaving SVU, Wong has appeared in all three Jurassic World films, reprising his role as Dr. Henry Wu from the first movie. Recently, he also starred in Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens and had an Emmy-nominated turn on Mr. Robot, too.

Kelli Giddish and Peter Scanavino play Amanda Rollins and Dominick “Sonny” Carisi, another beloved SVU ship.

Giddish announced her departure from the show ahead of Season 24, with Variety citing salary negotiations as the reason for her exit. Fortunately, executive producer Julie Martin promised that “#Rollisi will have a happy ending.”