Law & Order

Law & Order

7.4/10
NBC Running Drama • Crime • Legal

25 Seasons · 544 Episodes · Premiered September 13, 1990

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important, groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

Where to Watch: NBC

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Next Air Time: Fri, Apr 24 2026 12:00 AM GMT+0000

Seasons & Episodes

Season 1

22 episodes
E01
Prescription for Death
Thu, Sep 13 1990 4:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
Suzanne Morton dies after a visit to a hospital emergency room during a hectic night shift. Her father, a former army medic in Vietnam, accuses the hospital of negligence and demands a police investigation. Logan and Greevey question a doctor who made adjustments to her chart, but are soon led to the respected Dr. Edward Auster, who they feel may have been drunk on duty. The other residents are reluctant to speak for fear their jobs may be in jeopardy, and Stone is faced with the awkward job of prosecuting a revered physician.
E02
Subterranean Homeboy Blues
Thu, Sep 20 1990 4:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
A white woman, Laura di Biasi, shoots two black men in a crowded subway. The shooting at first appears to be self-defense, but further investigation shows that the motive may be revenge. Logan and Greevey argue about di Biasi's guilt, especially after learning that the dead man has a substantial record, and the living one cannot control himself in court. Laura di Biasi tries to make her case to Robinette, but he distances himself from the issue. Stone has trouble with the case, both in dealing with di Biasi's public defender, Shambala Green, and with the fact that the district attorney's office is divided over the issue.
E03
The Reaper's Helper
Thu, Oct 4 1990 4:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
Construction worker Bobby Holland is found shot to death in his apartment. Logan and Greevey investigate and soon learn that Holland was gay. After reading a magazine article, Greevey connects the death to others in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The detectives arrest Jack Curry, who is connected to all three cases. Curry admits his involvement and claims that each man asked him to help them commit suicide because they had AIDS. Stone is troubled about prosecuting the case because of his doubts that Curry did anything wrong
E04
Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die
Thu, Oct 11 1990 4:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
Paige Bartlett is found beaten severely in her Upper East Side apartment. She dies in the hospital. Greevey and Logan investigate her boyfriend Steven Feinstein, but find that they broke up the evening before she was killed. The detectives locate another boyfriend, Ned Loomis, and learn that he has a history of violence after another former victim comes forward. Stone is frustrated when he is not able to use Loomis' former crimes against him in court.
E05
Happily Ever After
Tue, Oct 23 1990 4:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
Alan Ralston is shot to death and his wife Janet wounded inside their building parking garage. In hospital, Janet identifies the alleged attacker from a police photo. One witness questioned early in the investigation is Gil Himes, a business associate of Alan. Police eventually piece together that the crime was not a random act of violence by the identified attacker. Rather it was the intentional murder of Alan and equally intentional wounding of Janet. Stone tries to get one of the suspects to testify against the other.
E06
Everybody's Favorite Bagman
Tue, Oct 30 1990 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
When a city councilman is robbed and his throat slit, the investigation ties the victim to organized crime. Logan, Greevey, and an undercover narcotics officer trace the crime to mob figure Tony Scalisi. Stone and Robinette cut a deal with Scalisi, who in turn leads them to corrupt city officials.
E07
By Hooker, By Crook
Tue, Nov 13 1990 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
The discovery of an unconscious man named Diamond in Central Park leads Greevey and Logan to Diamond's previous activity and locale—with an escort named Jolene in a hotel room. Greevey poses as a "john" looking for Jolene. When she stipulates her fees and services, Greevey arrests her for solicitation. When Diamond dies, the investigation leads to Jolene's superior, Jasmine, then to Jasmine's superior, Laura Winthrop. Winthrop claims that she runs a catering service, but when Jolene's blood tests HIV-positive, the case takes a sharp tack questioning the safety of the escort service industry.
E08
Poison Ivy
Tue, Nov 20 1990 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
During a routine drug arrest, a veteran police officer, Freddo Parisi, kills an young African-American man named Tommy Richardson, who may have been unarmed. Parisi is accused of planting a gun on the victim to justify the shooting. Moreover, Parisi has a similar incident already on his record. Richardson was a student at Princeton University who was well respected for his contributions to his community in terms of time, energy, and money. But the investigation reveals that he sold drugs to get the money.
E09
Indifference
Tue, Nov 27 1990 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
Greevey and Logan discover that an abused child has a cocaine-addicted mother, who is also being abused by her drug-addicted psychotherapist husband. The detectives investigate the doctor's checkered past, while prosecutors take a new tactic after the child dies.
E10
Prisoner of Love
Tue, Dec 4 1990 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
The apparent suicide of a controversial bisexual artist, who died while engaging in an apparent act of auto-erotic strangulation, leads Detectives Greevey and Logan into the city's bondage/S&M subculture. The initial explanation for the artist/victim's position is that he was involved in a "performance art work." Further investigation reveals that, in fact, he was one of a sadomasochistic trio that included the head of the New York Department of Cultural Affairs and his "mistress," a wealthy socialite dominatrix who instigated and monitored the S&M scene that led to the artist's death.
E11
Out of the Half-Light
Tue, Dec 11 1990 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
A teenaged African-American girl claims to have been raped by white police officers. Police and prosecutors struggle to get the truth when an ambitious African-American congressman claims the investigation is a racially motivated cover-up. However, when the rape kit tests negative, the prosecution suspects the case may be a hoax. The conflict heats until Robinette learns from the girl's parents that she and her boyfriend had sexual relations. The family fears an unwanted pregnancy, so, with the urging of the congressman, they claim the girl was raped by police officers. Having admitted the hoax, the family avoids the congressman whose campaign has been destroyed. Prosecutors devise a solution involving all-round gag orders. They concede that reputations were seriously damaged, but they reason that, with its impetus deflated, the case will fade quickly from people's memories.
E12
Life Choice
Tue, Jan 8 1991 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
After Mary Donovan, an anti-abortion protester, is killed in an abortion center bombing, detectives search for all of her potential co-conspirators. The victim's parents and brother prove to be as committed to the pro-life movement as the victim. The first defendant arrested is Celeste McClure, who purchased the fertilizer to be mixed with the diesel fuel to create the bomb. Police determine that the central figure in the plot is Rose Schwimmer who is arrested. Detectives discover that the victim was pregnant and was secretly seeking an abortion. At trial, Schwimmer attempts to use her witness testimony to preach against abortion. Stone stops the attempt by asking Schwimmer that, if abortion is murder, is Schwimmer not guilty of murdering Mary Donovan's unborn baby. Schwimmer is visibly defeated by the question and remains silent for the remainder of the trial, including her conviction.
E13
A Death in the Family
Tue, Jan 15 1991 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
NYPD officer Pete Rennick is shot to death on a rooftop in the dark; Logan and Greevey believe that a crook known as Brutus Walker is responsible for it, and the NYPD initiates a citywide manhunt for him. However, it later turns out that Walker was not the one who shot Rennick; it was his partner, Nicki Sandoval. Investigation reveals that, after displaying many blatant examples of his corruption to his partner, he was afraid that she would report him. So he lured her to the rooftop and tried to kill her, but she killed him first in self-defense. She is cleared of the shooting, but since policy dictates that she should have reported him, she will lose her job.
E14
The Violence of Summer
Tue, Feb 5 1991 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
Stone temporarily dismisses rape charges against three defendants because the victim is a journalist of questionable character whose testimony has too many flaws. Greevey and Logan's subsequent reinvestigation uncovers a possible fourth assailant. This is one of the few episodes where the "Order" segment preceded the "Law" segment.
E15
The Torrents of Greed, Part 1
Tue, Feb 12 1991 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
Detectives arrest three members of the Masucci crime family involved in a fatal assault, which leads to Stone attempting to use the arrest as a means to take down the entire Masucci crime syndicate via charging Mafia chieftain Frank Masucci. However, the plan backfires when Stone discovers that his chief witness (one of the three charged in the fatal assault) perjures himself on the stand, leading to Masucci's acquittal.
E16
The Torrents of Greed, Part 2
Tue, Feb 19 1991 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
In the wake of Masucci's acquittal, ADAs Stone and Robinette intensify their investigation with the mob boss. Their investigation leads them to bust Masucci's brother-in-law, who the mob boss promptly has murdered. The murder leads to the discovery of the dumping ground for victims of Masucci's crime syndicate. As they re-arrest the mob boss, his grieving sister supports her brother in court by putting up the money for his bail. However, within hours of leaving the courtroom, Frank Masucci is killed by an unknown hitman. Robinette and Stone speculate that Masucci's sister as the one who ordered the hit, but are unable to prove it. The two men, along with Adam Schiff, take comfort in the fact that in spite of their failure to bring Masucci to justice through the legal system, that his death will severely cripple the crime family.
E17
Mushrooms
Tue, Feb 26 1991 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
A 12-year-old boy is injured and his infant brother is killed by gunshots. The investigation reveals the children were the accidental victims of a hit ordered by a drug dealer against a real estate broker. Tragically, the murders prove to be the result of an adolescent gunman targeting the wrong address because he knows more about operating automatic weapons than about basic reading.
E18
The Secret Sharers
Tue, Mar 12 1991 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
Stone faces a Texas cowboy lawyer and a hostile community as he tries to prosecute a young man accused of murdering a drug dealer. He discovers two truths-that the drug dealer raped the defendant's sister, and that the community views the murder as retribution.
E19
The Serpent's Tooth
Tue, Mar 19 1991 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
A businessman and his wife are murdered; initially, the couple's two sons are treated as suspects. As the investigation develops, detectives discover that, in order to obtain financing for his business, the man took on a partner who was connected to Russian organized crime.
E20
The Troubles
Tue, Mar 26 1991 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
A truck with three handcuffed federal prisoners arrives at the 27th precinct. FBI and NYPD officials discover that one of the prisoners has mysteriously been murdered. The FBI officials assert jurisdiction and transport the other two to a federal prison. One of the two is a suspected IRA member who has been detained in the U.S. for five years without charge, bail or trial. Shortly afterwards, the remaining prisoner is discovered hanging in his federal prison cell. A prison guard is discovered to be an IRA member; he confesses to the prisoner's murder. Detectives and prosecutors face resistance from federal authorities as they pursue murder charges against a suspected IRA member serving time in federal prison, after he is suspected of killing another federal prisoner.
E21
Sonata for a Solo Organ
Tue, Apr 2 1991 5:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
Greevey and Logan discover that an apparent mugging victim found unconscious on a park bench has had his kidney removed. The case leads to a powerful man whose daughter desperately needed a transplant and the doctor who may have helped him.
E22
The Blue Wall
Sun, Jun 9 1991 4:00 PM GMT+0000 60 min
Suspicion grows in the department after incriminating evidence is erased. Captain Cragen is implicated in the internal affairs investigation. The detectives and prosecutors work together to get his name cleared.

Season 2

22 episodes

Season 3

22 episodes

Season 4

22 episodes

Season 5

23 episodes

Season 6

23 episodes

Season 7

23 episodes

Season 8

24 episodes

Season 9

24 episodes

Season 10

24 episodes

Season 11

24 episodes

Season 12

24 episodes

Season 13

24 episodes

Season 14

24 episodes

Season 15

24 episodes

Season 16

22 episodes

Season 17

22 episodes

Season 18

18 episodes

Season 19

22 episodes

Season 20

23 episodes

Season 21

10 episodes

Season 22

22 episodes

Season 23

13 episodes

Season 24

22 episodes

Season 25

21 episodes

Cast

Sam Waterston
Sam Waterston as District Attorney Jack McCoy
S. Epatha Merkerson
S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
Jerry Orbach
Jerry Orbach as Detective Leonard W. "Lennie" Briscoe
Steven Hill
Steven Hill as District Attorney Adam Schiff
Jesse L. Martin
Jesse L. Martin as Detective Edward "Eddie" Green
Fred Dalton Thompson
Fred Dalton Thompson as District Attorney Arthur Branch
Chris Noth
Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan
Benjamin Bratt
Benjamin Bratt as Detective Reynaldo "Rey" Curtis
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty as Executive A.D.A. Benjamin Stone
Alana De La Garza
Alana De La Garza as Assistant D.A. Connie Rubirosa
Elisabeth Röhm
Elisabeth Röhm as Assistant D.A. Serena Southerlyn
Hugh Dancy
Hugh Dancy as Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price

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