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93 free Law and Order trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free Law and Order trivia questions with answers. Are you a true Law and Order fan? Put your knowledge of the iconic crime drama franchise to the test with our comprehensive trivia quiz. From the original series to SVU and Organized Crime, see how well you know the detectives, cases, and unforgettable moments that made this show a television legend.
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Q 01Who is the creator of the extensive 'Law & Order' television franchise?
Dick Wolf
Dick Wolf created the franchise with the original series and went on to build it into more than half a dozen spin-offs plus international adaptations.
Q 02In what year did the original 'Law & Order' premiere on NBC, with its bifurcated cops-then-courts format?
1990
1990: it debuted on September 13 and stayed on NBC for its entire run.
Q 03Which 'Law & Order' spin-off passed Gunsmoke in 2019 to become TV's longest-running live-action primetime series?
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit passed its parent show and then Gunsmoke to become the longest-running live-action primetime series in American television history.
Q 04Which two parts make up the original 'Law & Order' episode structure?
Investigation and Trial
Investigation and Trial: each episode spends its first half with the detectives investigating the crime and its second half with the district attorneys prosecuting the case.
Q 05What is the nickname of the 'Law & Order' scene-transition sound effect?
The 'Dun Dun'
The 'Dun Dun': composer Mike Post calls it 'The Clang', a composite of several sounds that reportedly includes 500 Japanese men stamping on a hardwood floor.
Q 06Sam Waterston played which 'Law & Order' prosecutor, first as Executive Assistant DA and later District Attorney, into the revival?
Jack McCoy
Jack McCoy returned for the 2022 revival alongside Anthony Anderson's Detective Kevin Bernard.
Q 07Richard Belzer brought John Munch to SVU only on condition that which actor was cast as his partner?
Dean Winters
Dean Winters was contractually tied to HBO's Oz and left after a few season-one episodes; from season 2, Munch's partner was Fin Tutuola.
Q 08Jerry Orbach famously played which veteran detective on the original 'Law & Order'?
Lennie Briscoe
Jerry Orbach portrayed the wise-cracking Detective Lennie Briscoe, a beloved character who was one of the longest-serving detectives on the original 'Law & Order'.
Q 09COVID-19 shutdowns cut the first season of 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' from 13 episodes to how many, premiering April 2021?
Eight
Eight episodes, for the only new show on NBC's fall 2020 schedule, which ended up premiering on April 1, 2021.
Q 10Which actor played the eccentric, brilliant Detective Robert Goren in 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'?
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent D'Onofrio played Goren, the Major Case Squad's brilliant, unconventional investigator, opposite Kathryn Erbe's Alexandra Eames.
Q 11Whose voice opens every 'Law & Order' episode with 'In the criminal justice system...'?
Steven Zirnkilton
Zirnkilton has delivered the voice-over on every series and spin-off in the franchise, which share a similar look, music and credits.
Q 12What was the title of the 1988 'Law & Order' pilot that CBS ordered and then passed on?
Everybody's Favorite Bagman
The pilot was about corrupt city officials in bed with the mob, and NBC eventually aired it as a regular season-one episode.
Q 13Richard Belzer jokingly called the show's signature scene-change sound effect what?
The Dick Wolf Cash Register
Q 21Michael Moriarty quit the show after a feud with which U.S. Attorney General over television violence?
Janet Reno
Janet Reno: after Reno threatened to regulate TV violence in late 1993, Moriarty attacked her publicly, quit in 1994, and Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy replaced his Ben Stone.
Q 22What kind of crimes does the Special Victims Unit primarily investigate?
Sexually based offenses
As its name suggests, 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' focuses on crimes involving sexual assault, child molestation, and domestic violence.
Q 23Which rapper plays Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'?
Ice-T
'The Dick Wolf Cash Register': Belzer's joke about what the sound earns its creator; composer Mike Post himself calls the effect 'The Clang'.
Q 14Which city serves as the primary setting and filming location for most of the 'Law & Order' series?
New York City
The entire 'Law & Order' franchise is set and primarily filmed in New York City, giving the shows a distinct urban feel.
Q 15Which 'Law & Order: SVU' actress, as Olivia Benson, holds the record for longest-running character in a US primetime drama?
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay has played Benson since the 1999 premiere, making her the longest-running live-action character in an American primetime series.
Q 16What was the initial run length of the original 'Law & Order' series before its hiatus in 2010?
20 seasons
That first run produced 456 episodes and tied Gunsmoke as the longest-running primetime scripted drama before the 2022 revival pushed it past.
Q 17Who was Olivia Benson's 12-season Law & Order: SVU partner, played by Christopher Meloni?
Elliot Stabler
Elliot Stabler left after 12 seasons in 2011, then came back a decade later to headline the spin-off Organized Crime.
Q 18Steven Hill's District Attorney Adam Schiff was loosely based on which real-life Manhattan DA?
Robert Morgenthau
Robert Morgenthau, Manhattan's district attorney from 1975 to 2009, was the model for Adam Schiff; Steven Hill played the part for the show's first ten seasons.
Q 19SVU leads Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson were named after whom?
Dick Wolf's children
Dick Wolf's children: he named the two detectives after his son Elliot and his daughter Olivia when creating the series in 1999.
Q 20Which actor played Detective Joe Fontana, who took over Lennie Briscoe's desk at the 27th Precinct?
Dennis Farina
Farina, a former Chicago police officer, left after two seasons and Fontana was written off as retiring off-screen.
Ice-T joined 'Law & Order: SVU' in its second season in 2000 and has since become one of the show's most recognizable and longest-serving characters.
Q 24Which network aired 'Law & Order: UK', the franchise's British adaptation?
ITV
ITV: Law & Order: UK ran on ITV for eight series from 2009 to 2014, with Bradley Walsh and Jamie Bamber as its first pair of detectives.
Q 25Who played ADA Alexandra Cabot on 'Law & Order: SVU' and again in 'Conviction'?
Stephanie March
March took the part expecting the show to be short-lived because of its grim subject matter; Cabot was later written into Witness Protection after a hit nearly killed her.
Q 26Out of which Manhattan precinct does the SVU squad work?
The 16th Precinct
The 16th Precinct: Manhattan SVU's squad room is set there, while the original series' detectives worked out of the fictional 27th Precinct.
Q 27What was the name of Detective Elliot Stabler's wife in 'Law & Order: SVU' and 'Organized Crime'?
Kathy
Kathy, played by Isabel Gillies, was murdered by gangster Richard Wheatley, the event that pushed Stabler into the Organized Crime Control Bureau.
Q 28Which 'Law & Order' series often showed the crime unfold from the perpetrator's perspective?
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' stood out from other spin-offs by often showing the crime unfold from the perspective of the perpetrator, with detectives Goren and Eames then unraveling it.
Q 29Before becoming Lieutenant Van Buren, S. Epatha Merkerson guest-starred in 'Law & Order' as what?
A grieving mother
A grieving mother: in the 1991 season-one episode 'Mushrooms' she played Denise Winters, whose infant son was shot dead, two years before she joined as Van Buren.
Q 30Which network first ordered 13 episodes of 'Law & Order' on the concept alone, then backed out?
Fox
Fox ordered 13 episodes with no pilot; CBS then ordered a pilot but passed too, and the show finally landed at NBC, where it stayed for its entire run.