Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 17 Ratings

It’s hard to believe that Law & Order: SVU has been around for so long but it remains one of NBC’s top scripted series. Many other programs have been cancelled over the years but this one has hung around. Will it be renewed for an 18th season? Time will tell.

Law & Order: SVU follows an elite squad of detectives who investigate sexually based crimes in New York City. This season, the cast includes Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Kelli Giddish, Peter Scanavino, and Raul Esparza.

The ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s likelihood of staying on the air. The higher the ratings (particularly the 18-49 demo), the better the chances for survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available — usually the next day, around 11:30am EST/8:30am PST. Refresh to see the latest.

2/1 update: NBC has renewed SVU for an 18th season. Details here.

5/26 update: You can see the rest of the latest night’s ratings.

Note: If you’re not seeing the updated chart, please try reloading the page or view it here.

For comparisons: The 16th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit averaged a 1.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 7.31 million total viewers

Note: Note: These are the Live + Same Day Ratings which include “live” viewing plus delayed DVR viewing, up until 3am local time that same night. Ratings marked with an “*” are the fast affiliate ratings and will be updated with the Live+SD numbers when they are made available. Typically, networks get paid for C+3 ratings which includes DVR viewing within three days of the original airing when commercials are watched. Those numbers are rarely released to the press.

What do you think? Do you still like the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit TV series? Would you like to see it cancelled or renewed for an 18th season?