The BEST episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 26

Every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 26, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 26!

Delves into the dark side of the NYC underworld as the detectives investigate and prosecute various sexually oriented crimes, including rape, pedophilia, domestic violence, and the abuses of children, the disabled, and elderly victims of non-sexual crimes who require specialist handling, all while trying to balance the effects of the investigation on their own lives as they try not to let the dark side of these crimes affect them.

Last Updated: 5/3/2025Network: NBCStatus: Continuing
Shock Collar
star
8.02
44 votes

#1 - Shock Collar

Season 26 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/1/2025

When a car with a young girl in the backseat is stolen, the SVU investigates whether it was a crime of opportunity or a targeted abduction.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Cornered
star
7.97
195 votes

#2 - Cornered

Season 26 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/21/2024

Carisi tries to protect two women taken hostage in a tense standoff between police and a violent thief. Benson and Rollins devise a risky plan to get everyone to safety.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Play with Fire (2)
star
7.91
139 votes

#3 - Play with Fire (2)

Season 26 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/17/2025

When the SVU and the 2-7 uncover a pattern of rape and murder targeting marginalized women, Carisi and ADA Price team up to charge the suspect with multiple crimes.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Deductible
star
7.87
195 votes

#4 - Deductible

Season 26 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/30/2025

A young boy seeks help when his sister doesn't come home from work. Benson and Carisi suspect a woman's assault was prearranged by a third party.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Calculated
star
7.80
196 votes

#5 - Calculated

Season 26 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/13/2025

When a high school principal busts a student for sexting, the SVU uncovers a sinister case of distribution concerning hundreds of underage students. Silva pleads for leniency for a suspect she believes is innocent.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Excavation
star
7.78
214 votes

#6 - Excavation

Season 26 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/10/2024

Devastating repressed memories come back to a woman when she finds an old notebook in her family home. Bringing charges in a decades-old crime proves even more difficult for Carisi when a powerful judge stalls the case.

Watch Now:Apple TV
First Light
star
7.76
204 votes

#7 - First Light

Season 26 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/16/2025

An abhorrent web of lies and betrayal is uncovered when a woman is confronted with video of a night she can't remember. Carisi struggles to move on from his ordeal when the suspect changes his plea.

Watch Now:Apple TV
The Accuser
star
7.76
149 votes

#8 - The Accuser

Season 26 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/10/2025

When a man is ruthlessly assaulted and burned, the SVU's investigation uncovers a decades-old secret. Bruno helps a young witness find the courage to come forward.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Extinguished
star
7.74
180 votes

#9 - Extinguished

Season 26 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/20/2025

Velasco teams up with a community security guard eager to prove his mettle to find a suspect in the assault of two teens.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Divide and Conquer
star
7.74
215 votes

#10 - Divide and Conquer

Season 26 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/17/2024

A couple's dinner party ends with a violent home invasion and assault by masked men. Rollins suspects the crime is linked to her Intelligence investigation of an international gang of thieves.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Undertow
star
7.71
175 votes

#11 - Undertow

Season 26 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/13/2025

A complicated case of sex and drug use divides the squad. Carisi must convince a jury to focus on the law and not the defendant's accusations.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Economics of Shame
star
7.70
222 votes

#12 - Economics of Shame

Season 26 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/31/2024

When a TV reporter becomes the victim of sextortion that could ruin her career, Benson helps her take back control while Velasco goes undercover as a potential rich target.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Fractured
star
7.69
255 votes

#13 - Fractured

Season 26 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/3/2024

The SVU investigates a brutal attack on a group of law students. Benson hopes the discovery of a hidden camera will crack the case open. Carisi's best chance at conviction is catching the defendant in a lie.

Directors: Norberto Barba
Watch Now:Apple TV
Accomplice Liability
star
7.66
152 votes

#14 - Accomplice Liability

Season 26 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/3/2025

Carisi attempts to put aside his role as prosecutor to serve as a witness in a trial. Benson tries to help a rape survivor struggling with her recovery.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Rorschach
star
7.63
219 votes

#15 - Rorschach

Season 26 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/7/2024

Agent Clay consults with Benson when a woman is found gravely injured at a remote campground and the suspect could be anywhere along the Eastern Seaboard. Bruno and Silva take a chance on an odd hunch to see if it becomes a lead.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Master Key
star
7.62
193 votes

#16 - Master Key

Season 26 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/23/2025

When a teen from a group home goes missing, the squad has only minutes to determine if he ran away or was abducted. Velasco suspects the system at large is to blame for letting children slip through the cracks.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Tenfold
star
7.61
197 votes

#17 - Tenfold

Season 26 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/14/2024

Bruno must get to the center of a victim's incomplete story to track down a serial rapist. Carisi is helpless to stop a crime he suspects is about to be committed.

Watch Now:Apple TV
The Grid Plan
star
7.56
187 votes

#18 - The Grid Plan

Season 26 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/27/2025

A Midwestern tourist is viciously attacked in Times Square. As the squad scours the area for clues, the victim takes the investigation into her own hands. A secret motive threatens to derail Carisi's case.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Constricted
star
7.49
213 votes

#19 - Constricted

Season 26 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/24/2024

A romantic date ends with a teenager fighting for her life in the hospital. Carisi can't help bringing the case home with him as he envisions the dangers ahead for his growing daughters.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Let Me Bring Pardon
star
7.49
171 votes

#20 - Let Me Bring Pardon

Season 26 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/20/2025

The doctor of a comatose woman calls SVU when he discovers his patient is pregnant. Benson must convince the family to reject magical thinking and look at the facts.

Watch Now:Apple TV