Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Season 17
Hope in the darkness.
About this season
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
Episodes (23)
1. Devil's Dissections (1)
8.6Aired 23 September 2015 • 43 min
The squad revisit a crime scene where bodies were buried by a serial killer. Rollins tries to get a confession, but the killer reveals shocking new info instead.
2. Criminal Pathology (2)
8.7Aired 23 September 2015 • 43 min
A serial killer reveals shocking new info and problems in the case mount as Barba faces slick lawyers in court.
3. Transgender Bridge
8.2Aired 30 September 2015 • 43 min
When a transgender teen is assaulted by high school bullies, the case quickly escalates to tragedy, and the squad agonizes over whether the punishment fits the crime.
4. Institutional Fail
8.0Aired 7 October 2015 • 43 min
A malnourished toddler is found wandering and leads police to another ill child from the same home. The investigation eventually lands the Department of Child Services in hot water. Meanwhile, Chief Dodds tells Benson to expect some changes at her squad.
5. Community Policing
8.6Aired 14 October 2015 • 43 min
An unarmed black man is shot by three police officers who claim they were following proper procedure while pursuing a rape suspect. As racial tensions mount throughout the city, Barba indicts the three cops.
6. Maternal Instincts
7.8Aired 21 October 2015 • 43 min
A violinist is raped by her colleague, but he doesn't remember committing the crime and claims he was drugged and robbed by a hired escort. Meanwhile, Rollins' mother throws a baby shower for her; and Sgt. Mike Dodds reports to work at the SVU squad.
7. Patrimonial Burden
8.6Aired 4 November 2015 • 43 min
When a pious TV family's reputation is shattered by a teen pregnancy scandal, SVU uncovers the reality behind the reality show.
8. Melancholy Pursuit
8.0Aired 11 November 2015 • 43 min
The search for a missing teenager takes an emotional toll on Dodd, DNA could lead to the teen's abductor.
9. Depravity Standard
8.0Aired 18 November 2015 • 43 min
Lt. Benson seeks justice in the trial of child abductor Lewis Hodda, but when a plea deal is rejected, Barba must rely on decades-old evidence to make his case and faces off against former SVU colleague Dr. Huang.
10. Catfishing Teacher
8.7Aired 6 January 2016 • 43 min
A high school student plans a clandestine hookup with his female teacher but ends up in a far more sinister situation.
11. Townhouse Incident
8.7Aired 13 January 2016 • 43 min
Benson is taken hostage when she tries to stop a home invasion.
12. A Misunderstanding
9.0Aired 20 January 2016 • 43 min
A murky he-said, she-said date rape case ruins the futures of two high school students.
13. Forty-One Witnesses
8.2Aired 3 February 2016 • 43 min
A woman is followed home and raped outside her building, where several neighbors witness the crime but fail to call for help.
14. Nationwide Manhunt (I)
8.6Aired 10 February 2016 • 43 min
Chicago P.D. detectives Lindsay and Dawson join the SVU in the hunt for two escaped murderers they helped to convict. The crossover continues on Chicago P.D. S03E14 The Song of Gregory Williams Yates (II).
15. Collateral Damages
8.8Aired 17 February 2016 • 43 min
Two high-profile suspects are arrested in the takedown of an online pedophile ring following a sting operation.
16. Star-Struck Victims
8.3Aired 24 February 2016 • 43 min
When a lack of evidence leads Barba to drop rape charges against a popular actor; Rollins takes matters into her own hands.
17. Manhattan Transfer
8.5Aired 2 March 2016 • 43 min
A sexual exploitation case involving Catholic schoolgirls results in surprising charges against people in esteemed leadership positions, including judges, lawmakers, lawyers and cops.
18. Unholiest Alliance
7.8Aired 23 March 2016 • 43 min
When one of their own is implicated in a cover-up, the SVU struggles to unravel a sex trafficking operation deeply-rooted in government offices, the police department, and the Catholic Church.
19. Sheltered Outcasts
8.2Aired 30 March 2016 • 43 min
Detective Carisi lives undercover at a homeless shelter to determine if one of its sex offender residents is the suspect in a string of neighborhood rapes.
20. Fashionable Crimes
8.0Aired 4 May 2016 • 43 min
A young model is raped by a renowned fashion house photographer, who looks to his successful brother to make the charges disappear.
21. Assaulting Reality
8.0Aired 11 May 2016 • 43 min
The producers of a reality TV dating series make Benson and the SVU team part of the show when they investigate a contestant's claim that she was raped.
22. Intersecting Lives (1)
8.8Aired 18 May 2016 • 43 min
A corrections officer is arrested for sexually assaulting female inmates in and out of prison, and the union that supports him targets Barba and the SVU.
23. Heartfelt Passages (2)
9.0Aired 25 May 2016 • 43 min
When the investigation of Corrections Officer Gary Munson deepens, he and his union take drastic actions that threaten the lives of ADA Barba and the SVU squad.