Law & Order: SVU season 1 has 22 episodes.
The first season premiered on NBC on September 20, 1999, and concluded on May 19, 2000. It introduced the series’ core investigative team, including Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler, John Munch, Donald Cragen, and Monique Jeffries.
The season began airing on Monday nights at 9 p.m. Eastern, but NBC moved the show to Friday nights at 10 p.m. after its ninth episode. That scheduling change is one reason viewers sometimes encounter differing descriptions of the season’s broadcast pattern, but the episode count remains 22.
Season 1 established SVU as the first spin-off of Law & Order, focusing on sexually based offenses and the emotional strain such cases placed on detectives. Later seasons varied in length, so the 22-episode total should not be assumed for every season.