The BEST episodes of Law & Order
Every episode of Law & Order ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Law & Order!
A blended police procedural and courtroom drama which employs a two-part approach: The first half of each episode focuses on NYPD homicide detectives investigating a crime—often derived from a real-life headline—and apprehending a suspect. The second half takes place in the courtroom, with the district attorney prosecuting the defendant.
#1 - Invaders
Season 16 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/17/2006
The family of a man who once turned his customers into the police is slain, and the ensuing fracas pits McCoy against a corrupt D.E.A. agent.
#2 - Monster
Season 8 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/20/1998
During the search for a pedophile who raped a 10-year-old, a snitch offers Briscoe a chance to avenge his daughter's death. Meanwhile, Van Buren learns that her job is in jeopardy; McCoy is ordered to appear before a disciplinary committee because of his conduct in a DUI case; and the increasingly political Schiff worries that the rape case may adversely impact his reelection bid.
#3 - Aftershock
Season 6 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/22/1996
After Briscoe, Curtis, McCoy, and Kincaid witness the execution of a criminal they brought to justice, their unique reactions to the event culminate in personal tragedies for each of them.
#4 - American Dream
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/9/1993
A skeleton unearthed at a building site resurrects one of Stone's old cases, and brings him face to face with the tenacious, brilliant culprit, who is seeking a new trial.
#5 - Open Season
Season 13 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/20/2002
A defense attorney who managed the acquittal of the defendant in the attempted murder of a cop is gunned down outside a Manhattan restaurant. The detectives start with police officers in the precinct of the injured officer, then to his brother, before they are led to a white supremacist who is part of a national network. McCoy is faced with the unlikely prospect that the defendant's attorney, his friend of 20 years and a friend of the slain lawyer, played a part in the murder of a Florida district attorney following the defendant's arrest. McCoy is able to make a deal that perserves the integrity of his adversary, but not without a cost.
#6 - Pro Se
Season 6 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/8/1996
The investigation into multiple homicides at a clothing store leads to the arrest of a schizophrenic who presents McCoy with a formidable opponent when he decides to represent himself.
#7 - Rage
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/1/1995
A Wall Street broker accused of murdering his mentor uses the defense of "black rage" in court.
#8 - Cost of Capital
Season 16 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/8/2006
The case against a high powered executive accused of killing her lover rests on the executive's estranged husband and unstable teenage daughter.
#9 - Harm
Season 9 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/3/1999
Briscoe and Curtis investigate a possible homicide while probing the assault of a retired divorce attorney.
#10 - No Good Deed
Season 23 - Episode 12 - Aired 5/9/2024
Shaw and Riley investigate the death of a therapist with a long list of troubled clients. Baxter takes over Price's chair when a disturbing connection to the defendant is discovered.
#12 - Appraisal
Season 22 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/11/2023
Cosgrove and Shaw suspect an art dealer was murdered but can't make an arrest until they locate her body. Price and Maroun must go to trial with a circumstantial case and a suspect with unlimited resources. The squad celebrates a birthday.
#13 - Caviar Emptor
Season 14 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/12/2004
When a caviar importer is murdered the day after his wedding to a much-younger woman, the large pool of suspects includes his new wife, his children, and his chief competitor, each of whom has a compelling motive for committing the crime.
#14 - Last Dance
Season 23 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/22/2024
When a woman is found murdered in Central Park, evidence points to two frequent park-goers: a street vendor and a tech billionaire. In the face of extreme political pressure, McCoy takes drastic action to make the case.
#15 - C.O.D.
Season 14 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/19/2004
Briscoe bids farewell to the 27 as the prosecution of two women for killing each other's husbands comes to a successful conclusion.
#16 - Old Friends
Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/25/1994
A truck hits a pedestrian and the investigation reveals the victim's link to a baby-food company in which a new partner has connections to the Russian mob.
#17 - Chosen
Season 13 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/15/2003
The murder of a bookie with a high-class clientelle leads the detectives to arrest his partner. Charged with first-degree murder, his attorney puts forth an unusual defense strategy that turns the trial into a political statement.
#18 - Couples
Season 13 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/21/2003
Briscoe and Green catch four murders and a kidnapping on the same day, and get handed confessions in each case.
#19 - Born Again
Season 12 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/6/2002
The investigation into the death of an 11-year-old girl uncovers the possible culpability of the child's mother and a rebirthing therapist.
#20 - Heart of Darkness
Season 16 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/18/2006
A journalist's suicide becomes suspect after Green and Fontana find evidence at the scene suggesting that it wasn't a suicide after all.
#21 - Shangri-La
Season 13 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/9/2002
The murder of a female high school English teacher uncovers a love triangle that includes a female student and a male teacher, both of whom become suspects. The prosecutors have to deal with the student's multiple identities and refusal to live past adolescence.
#22 - Over Here
Season 17 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/11/2007
The detectives link the deaths of two homeless men to the war in Iraq.
#23 - Acid
Season 16 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/30/2005
After the daughter of one of Van Buren's college friends is found dead in her room, a suicide, Van Buren joins Green and Fontana in hunting down the man who burned her face with acid months earlier, ultimately leading to her suicide. Van Buren is unsucces
#24 - Tragedy on Rye
Season 13 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/30/2002
A struggling actress is murdered in an apparent robbery-homicide where a video tape, made by a couple touring the city sold to a local news station, shows three suspects loading the stolen property into an SUV. They are charged with felony murder, a capital crime, and causes unrest with Southerlyn surrounding the death penalty.
#25 - Damaged
Season 8 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/6/1998
The case of a teacher's shooting uncovers a vendetta involving the rape of a mentally challenged coed by three students, whose attorney claims they weren't aware of her condition.