In The Criminal Justice System, These Are All The 'Law & Order' Series, Ranked

Main Characters: Elliot Stabler, Olivia Benson, John Munch, Donald Cragen, Monique Jeffries, Alexandra Cabot, Odafin "Fin" Tutuola, George Huang, Casey Novak, Melinda Warner, Chester Lake, Kim Greylek, Nick Amaro, Amanda Rollins, Rafael Barba, Dominick Carisi Jr., Peter Stone.

What Made This Show Unique in the Franchise: Detectives in the Special Victims Unit of a fictional version of the New York Police Department investigate and prosecute sexually-oriented crimes. With a "ripped from the headlines" approach Law & Order: SVU unveils real-life scenarios while also following the personal lives of its characters.

Main Characters: Max Greevey, Mike Logan, Donald Cragen, Ben Stone, Paul Robinette, Adam Schiff, Phil Cerreta, Elizabeth Olivet, Lennie Briscoe, Anita Van Buren, Claire Kincaid, Jack McCoy, Rey Curtis, Jamie Ross, Abbie Carmichael, Ed Green, Nora Lewin, Serena Southerlyn, Arthur Branch, Joe Fontana, Nick Falco, Alexandra Borgia, Nina Cassady, Connie Rubirosa, Cyrus Lupo, Michael Cutter, Kevin Bernard.

What Made This Show Unique in the Franchise: This popular police procedural launched the Law & Order franchise which shares the stories of investigators and prosecutors. After a cold open, a crime – often a homicide – is investigated to identify a suspect and bring them to justice.

Main Characters: Alexandra Eames, Mike Logan, Zack Nichols, Robert Goren, Carolyn Barek, Megan Wheeler, Nola Falacci, Serena Stevens, James Deakins, Danny Ross, Zoe Callas, Joseph Hannah, Ron Carver, Paula Gyson,

What Made This Show Unique in the Franchise: The Major Case Squad – a group of brilliant, skilled detectives – solves high-profile and complex crimes in every episode. Often times a case will involve elected officials, business leaders, or other VIPs.

Main Characters: Detective Elliot Stabler, Richard Wheatley, Angela Wheatley, Seargent Ayanna Bell, Jet Sloomaekers

What Made This Show Unique in the Franchise: Fully a spin-off of a spin-off, Organized Crime marked the return of the fan favorite Detective Stabler, who departed SVU in season 12.

Main Characters: Ronnie Brooks, Matt Devlin, Natalie Chandler, James Steel QC, Alesha Phillips, George Castle, Jake Thorne, Henry Sharpe, Sam Casey, Kate Barker, Wes Layton, Joe Hawkins, Elisabeth Flynn.

What Made This Show Unique in the Franchise: This British adaptation of Law & Order doesn't follow the character's personal lives, instead prioritizing major plots about investigations and prosecutions. Like its American counterpart, the series features a police portion and a trial portion each episode.

Main Characters: Leslie Abramson, Erik Menendez, Lyle Menendez.

What Made This Show Unique in the Franchise: The first and only season features a dramatization of the story of the Menendez Brother as they were convicted for the murder of their parents. Along with the brothers, their defense attorney Leslie Abramson, played by Edie Falco, serves as the main protagonist.