Law & Order: SVU Renewed for Season 28

NBC has confirmed the renewal of another veteran drama, a week out from the renewals of their Chicago trio. Law & Order: SVU, the longest-running drama in TV history, will be back for season 28 next year. SVU remains a top performer for NBC, especially on streaming, averaging 0.30 in the key demo this season to date. The series is having its best season on Peacock to date, up 27% from last season and consistently ranking as the service's most-watched NBC series. While only being announced today, SVU is said to have been quietly renewed for season 28 an entire year ago, having received a two-season pickup last May. That would explain why its renewal was dragged out until May last year, though why they waited until now to announce it remains to be seen. SVU stars Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Peter Scanavino, and Kelli Giddish, and is one of the crown jewels of Dick Wolf's TV empire. This is a correct prediction for The TV Ratings Guide.

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Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU Renewed by NBC

Days after announcing the renewals of their Chicago trio, NBC has renewed their other Dick Wolf shows - Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU - for next season. Like the Chicagos, these Law & Order renewals are for just one more season each. Both shows are among the top performers on NBC, a network that had a very rough year in the ratings. Despite a 25% year-to-year drop, SVU tied Chicago PD as NBC's #4 series this season with a 0.35 average, behind two other Chicagos and The Voice, and it remains a massive hit on streaming, consistently ranking as the top TV offering on Peacock. Law & Order, a revival of the series that originally ran from 1990 to 2010, is weaker than its spinoff in both regards. It averages 0.30 in the key 18-49 demo, tying it for seventh overall on NBC this season. The show is also not a multiplatform success on the level of SVU, but remains one of NBC's highest-rated series overall. Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Peter Scanavino and Kevin Kane star in SVU and are expected to return for season twenty-seven, while fellow regular cast members Octavio Pisano and Juliana Aidén Martinez will both depart after the current season. Law & Order stars Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Mehcad Brooks, Maura Tierney, Tony Goldwyn and Odelya Halevi. Like SVU, Law & Order may see cast exits for its just-ordered twenty-fifth season, though none have been announced thus far. Salary cuts are also expected, as NBC continues to cut the budgets of even its highest-rated shows. These are both correct predictions for The TV Ratings Guide.

Law & Order: SVU Renewed by NBC

NBC has renewed drama Law & Order: SVU for a 21st season. This will make it the longest-running drama in television history, surpassing Gunsmoke’s long-held record (the original Law & Order would go on to tie it).

Currently, the show is averaging a 0.88 in A18-49 Live + Same Day in its Thursday at 10pm time slot, down 31% in that metric from when it anchored Wednesdays last season. The show consistently grows out of its lead-in.

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Law & Order: SVU Ratings (Season 22, 2020-21)

	A18-49 L+SD	A18-49 L+3	A18-49 L+7	M18-49	W18-49
1	0.59	1.13	1.27	0.5	0.7
2	0.52	1.11		0.4	0.7
3	0.63		1.25
4	0.65
5	0.64
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Avg	0.61	1.12	1.26	0.45	0.70
2019-20	0.67	1.31	1.44	0.49	0.84
2018-19	0.83	1.60	1.80	0.60	1.06

	A18-34	M18-34	W18-34	A25-54	M25-54	W25-54
1	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.8	0.6	1.0
2	0.3	0.2	0.4	0.7	0.6	0.9
3	0.3			1.0
4	0.27			1.01
5	0.31			0.96
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Avg	0.32	0.25	0.40	0.89	0.60	0.95
2019-20	0.35	0.28	0.42	0.95	0.67	1.20
2018-19	0.46	0.33	0.60	1.13	0.82	1.43

	Viewers L+SD	Viewers L+3	Viewers L+7	HH	Age
1	3.024	5.129	5.581	2.0	60.6
2	2.949			2.0	61.3
3	4.186		6.552
4	3.859
5	3.833
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Avg	3.570	5.129	5.581	2.00	61.00
2019-20	3.62	6.01	6.45	2.46	60.99
2018-19	4.13			2.80	59.98