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.

Last Updated: 10/6/2025Network: NBCStatus: Continuing
Invaders
star
7.96
159 votes

#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.

Directors: Matthew Penn
Watch Now:Amazon
Monster
star
7.89
167 votes

#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.

Directors: Ed Sherin
Watch Now:Amazon
Aftershock
star
7.89
239 votes

#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.

Directors: Martha Mitchell
Watch Now:Amazon
American Dream
star
7.85
260 votes

#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.

Watch Now:Amazon
Open Season
star
7.85
124 votes

#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.

Directors: Matthew Penn
Watch Now:Amazon
Pro Se
star
7.84
236 votes

#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.

Directors: Lewis H. Gould
Watch Now:Amazon
Rage
star
7.83
230 votes

#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.

Directors: Arthur W. Forney
Watch Now:Amazon
Cost of Capital
star
7.82
139 votes

#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.

Watch Now:Amazon
Harm
star
7.82
164 votes

#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.

Directors: Richard Dobbs
Watch Now:Amazon
No Good Deed
star
7.81
144 votes

#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.

Directors: Eriq La Salle
Writer: Rick Eid
Watch Now:Amazon
Play with Fire (1)
star
7.81
157 votes

#11 - Play with Fire (1)

Season 24 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/17/2025

A mysterious phone call to Capt. Benson of the Special Victims Unit leads detectives to the scene of a brutal murder.

Watch Now:Amazon
Appraisal
star
7.80
154 votes

#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.

Directors: Michael Pressman
Watch Now:Amazon
Caviar Emptor
star
7.78
166 votes

#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.

Directors: Richard Dobbs
Writer: Roz Weinman
Watch Now:Amazon
Last Dance
star
7.77
176 votes

#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.

Directors: Alex Hall
Watch Now:Amazon
C.O.D.
star
7.77
153 votes

#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.

Directors: Matthew Penn
Watch Now:Amazon
Old Friends
star
7.76
213 votes

#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.

Directors: James Quinn
Watch Now:Amazon
Chosen
star
7.76
173 votes

#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.

Directors: Ed Sherin
Watch Now:Amazon
Couples
star
7.75
151 votes

#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.

Directors: David Platt
Watch Now:Amazon
Born Again
star
7.75
171 votes

#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.

Directors: Jace Alexander
Watch Now:Amazon
Heart of Darkness
star
7.75
140 votes

#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.

Directors: Richard Dobbs
Watch Now:Amazon
Shangri-La
star
7.74
171 votes

#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.

Watch Now:Amazon
Over Here
star
7.74
128 votes

#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.

Watch Now:Amazon
Acid
star
7.74
146 votes

#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

Directors: Michael Pressman
Watch Now:Amazon
Tragedy on Rye
star
7.74
122 votes

#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.

Directors: David Platt
Watch Now:Amazon
Damaged
star
7.73
166 votes

#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.

Watch Now:Amazon