Which SVU season included the series' 500th episode?

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s 500th episode aired during Season 23.

Season 23 premiered on NBC on September 23, 2021, and the milestone episode was the season’s sixth installment. It aired on October 21, 2021, marking a major achievement for a series that had begun more than two decades earlier as a spin-off of the original Law & Order.

The season’s 500th episode was designed as a retrospective milestone while still advancing the characters’ ongoing stories. It brought back former SVU detective Nick Amaro, played by Danny Pino, and former captain Don Cragen, played by Dann Florek. Their returns linked the episode to earlier eras of the show.

A common mistake is choosing Season 22 because that season immediately preceded the milestone. Episode counts are based on the show’s cumulative broadcast order, not simply on a season’s number or anniversary year. Season 23 is the correct answer because its sixth episode reached the series’ 500-episode mark.