Where Does Law & Order: Organized Crime Fit Into SVU?
With all the spin-offs and crossovers, this can get confusing.
Law & Order: Organized Crime is the latest addition to the Law and Order franchise, and it follows the story of Elliot Stabler, a character who first appeared in Law & Order: SVU (or, in other words, our favorite prodigal son whose relationship with Olivia Benson has been keeping us on the edge of our seats for years now). The show is a spin-off of SVU and is set in the same universe, which means that the two shows occasionally cross over.
To understand where and when to start watching Organized Crime, it's best to first watch all of SVU up to season 22, episode 9. This is where the first official crossover event takes place, and it's called "Return of the Prodigal Son."
This episode sets up the main storyline for Organized Crime's first season and introduces Stabler's return to the NYPD after the character being absent for years. After this episode, you can start watching Organized Crime, starting with the very first episode, "What Happens In Puglia."
As you continue to watch both shows, you'll come across other crossover events, such as "Trick Rolled at the Moulin" and "I Thought You Were On My Side." These events are usually spread out across several episodes of each show, so it's important to watch them in the correct order to understand the full story. Thankfully, these crossovers are actually worth a little additional effort.
It's worth mentioning that the most recent crossover event "Gimme Shelter" is different from the others. It covers three shows, OC, SVU, and the original Law and Order. And in this case, you are supposed to watch OC first, then SVU, and finally the original Law and Order.
So far there have been six crossover events, but, seeing how Law & Order just keeps expanding with the ending nowhere near in sight, it's pretty much a given that we'll be getting more of this stuff.
Here is a list of every crossover episode in the Law & Order universe, along with the correct order in which to watch them:
Crossover Event #1
- Return of the Prodigal Son (SVU season 22 episode 9)
- What Happens In Puglia (Organized Crime season 1 episode 1)
Crossover Event #2
- Trick Rolled at the Moulin (SVU season 22 episode 13)
- An Inferior Product (OC season 1 episode 5)
Crossover Event #3
- I Thought You Were On My Side (SVU season 23 episode 3)
- New World Order (OC season 2 episode 2)
- The Outlaw, Eddie Wagner (OC season 2, episode 3)
Crossover Event #4
- The People vs Richard Wheatley (SVU season 23 episode 9)
- The Christmas Episode (OC season 2 episode 9)
Crossover Event #5
- Did You Believe In Miracles? (SVU season 23 episode 20)
- Lost One (OC season 2 episode 20)
Crossover Event #6
- Gimme Shelter Part 1 (OC season 3 episode 1)
- Gimme Shelter Part 2 (SVU season 24 episode 1)
- Gimme Shelter Part 3 (Law & Order season 22 episode 1)
Other than the crossover events, the stories of SVU and OC are separate. SVU at this point is somewhat of a case-of-the-week format, with a new story every episode, while OC tells one long, continuous story across 6-8 episodes. This means that you can watch the shows independently, but the crossovers will give you a deeper understanding of the characters and the overall story.
So, let's sum it up: if you want to fully understand the story of Organized Crime, it's best to start by watching all of SVU up to season 22, episode 9, and then start watching Organized Crime. Keep an eye out for the crossover events and make sure to watch them in the correct order.