Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 18 Ratings

Will Law & Order: Special Victims Unit ever be cancelled? Though the show’s now in its 18th season, it’ still one of NBC’s top rated shows so it doesn’t look likely that it will be ending any time soon. How soon will be renewed for a 19th season? Will all of the castmembers stay? Stay tuned.

Law & Order: SVU follows an elite squad of detectives who investigate sexually based crimes in New York City. This season, the cast is made up of Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Kelli Giddish, Peter Scanavino, and Raul Esparza. Recurring actors include Robert John Burke, Peter Gallagher, and Elizabeth Marvel.

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.

5/25 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 17th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit  averaged a 1.60 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 6.90 million viewers (live + same day ratings).

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 a 19th season on NBC?

5/12 update: Law & Order: SVU was renewed for season 19 on NBC. Details here.