NBC has officially renewed Law & Order: SVU for a 20th season, series star Ice-T revealed today.
The renewal comes as no surprise given the show’s significant syndication strength, how well it does as the cornerstone of the network’s Wednesday lineup, and its proximity to Gunsmoke‘s 21-season record for a live-action scripted series. The Law & Order mothership also reached a 20th season before being cancelled in 2010.
Barring something unforeseen, SVU will likely be hanging on to its Wednesday time slot. It’s still got a lot of life in it, especially with CBS and ABC weaker in the hour vs. last year, and NBC has other nights that need attention before they think about fiddling with Wednesdays. Plus, so much of the network’s schedule space is covered by The Voice, a comedy block, and football, so the places that SVU could move if NBC even wanted to put it somewhere else are limited in scope.
With the renewal, SVU is the latest NBC series to get a pass to 2018-2019, joining the likes of Superstore, The Good Place, This Is Us, and Will & Grace. The network has already ordered three new dramas and two new comedies for next season.
Law & Order: SVU airs Wednesdays at 9:00 on NBC.
