Prepare for the crossover event of the season.
NBC announced Aug. 24 that there will be a historic three-hour Law & Order crossover event on Sept. 22 that will see characters from across the franchise working together on a case. The night will kick off with Law & Order: Organized Crime, which will lead into Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, before coming to an end with Law & Order.
The crossover will see Mariska Hargitay's Capt. Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni's Det. Elliot Stabler, Jeffrey Donovan's Det. Frank Cosgrove, Mehcad Brooks' Det. Jalen Shaw, Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy and Hugh Dancy's ADA Nolan Price team up to figure out what happened after a mysterious young girl who is shot in cold blood.
Benson and Stabler are called to work on the case after Cosgrove and Shaw "realize they have more than a typical homicide case on their hands," according to NBC. "After uncovering key evidence, Jack McCoy (Waterston) and ADA Nolan Price (Dancy) seek justice against an international crime ring," the teaser continues, "but complications threaten the outcome of their case."
NBC shared a preview of the crossover, in which Benson theorizes that the murder "was a coordinated attack."
This is the first time all three of the shows will crossover, with Dick Wolf teasing that the episodes are inspired by true events.
"Nothing demonstrates the power of the Law & Order brand more than an ambitious three-hour event with a story that is truly ripped from the headlines that starts on Organized Crime, then migrates to SVU and finally the trial on Law & Order," said Wolf in a statement. "Rick and Gwen did an amazing job writing a compelling script and I can't think of a bigger and better way to launch the new season of Law & Order Thursday."
So make sure to mark your calendars and set your DVRs, as the crossover event is structured like one three-hour episode, with NBC warning that SVU and Law & Order will not feature credits or title sequences to make for a seamless viewing experience. The Law & Order crossover will air on Sept. 22 from 8 to 11 p.m. on NBC and on Peacock the next day.
(E! and NBC are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)