Ripped From the Headlines
The Law & Order franchise is known for taking stories straight from the headlines and putting their own trademark twist on them. These are the best ones, ranked. Doink Doink.
13. Law & Order, "Fame"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's relationship.
Law & Order twist: An officer is murdered during the burglary of a paparazzi's apartment and during the investigation the police learn the photog may have taken embarrassing photos of a young celebrity and her child, leading her husband to become a suspect.
12 Law & Order: SVU, "Star-Struck Victims"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: Bill Cosby's sexual abuse allegations. Cosby has been accused by dozens of women alleging he drugged and sexually assaulted them.
Law & Order's twist: Rollins (Kelli Giddish) took matters into her own hands when rape charges against a popular actor (Craig Bierko) were dropped due to lack of evidence. He was accused by a popular vlogger and video was later leaked to the press after the charges were dropped.
11. Law & Order: SVU, "Selfish"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: Casey Anthony and the death of her daughter.
Law & Order twist: Hilary Duff played Ashlee Walker, a young mother who leaned more on the irresponsible side. Her mother, Ruth (Gail O'Grady), reported her granddaughter missing. The girl was found—dead—and Ashlee was suspected of murder. But—twist!—turns out the young girl died from measles after being exposed to them by a boy whose mother refused to get him vaccinated.
10. Law & Order: SVU, "Blood Brothers"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: Arnold Schwarzenegger's paternity scandal.
Law & Order twist: The SVU detectives worked to discover the father to a 13-year-old girl's baby, and in the process unraveled family secrets of an ambassador (and his child with a former housekeeper).
9. Law & Order: SVU, "December Solstice"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: Casey Kasem's final years. Before his death, the legendary broadcaster was moved around and kept from his children by wife Jean Kasem. Kasem's kids went to court to fight their stepmother for access to their father. The battle continued after his death as well with Jean moving his body.
Law & Order's twist: Robert Vaughn played celebrity author Walter Briggs and Marcia Cross portrayed his current wife. Cross' character fought with the kids and SVU became involved when kids alleged sexual abuse on Cross' character's part.
8. Law & Order: SVU, "American Tragedy"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: Paula Deen's racist remarks and the death of Trayvon Martin.
Law & Order twist: SVU gave viewers a twofer with this episode. Cybill Shepherd played Jolene Castille, a celebrity chef who claimed self defense after killing an unarmed teen whom she suspected was about to attack and rape her.
7. Law & Order, "Murder Book"
Rippded-from-the-headlines story: O.J. Simpson and the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.
Law & Order twist: This was Law & Order season 17 from 2007, well after Simpson's trial. In the episode, a publisher was found murdered and the evidence pointed at J.P. Lange (Bobby Cannavale), a former pro baseball player who was already acquitted of his wife's murder. Cannavale's character wrote a book hypothesizing what he would have done if he committed the murder. Sound familiar? Twists ensued and a ghostwriter on the book attempted to sway the police and DA with info about a juror pay-off from Lange's original trial that resulted in the acquittal.
6. Law & Order: SVU, "Funny Valentine"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: Chris Brown and Rihanna's relationship.
Law & Order twist: A singer was attacked by her boyfriend, another music star, but the victim refused to help prosecution. A media circus ensued and everything came to a head when the SVU team, unable to get charges to stick, learned the singer was found dead on a yacht with her boyfriend arrested.
5. Law & Order: CI, "Bombshell"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: The death of Anna Nicole Smith.
Law & Order twist: A former stripper who married a famous billionaire was found dead shortly after the death of her son—but it turned out their deaths were at the hands of the mother's vindictive sister.
4. Law & Order "Baby It's You"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: The death of JonBenet Ramsey.
Law & Order twist: The episode, which was half of a two-part crossover with Homicide: Life on the Street, followed the detectives investigating the death of a teen fashion model. She died of toxic shock syndrome, but it was triggered by a sexual assault. The detectives were stonewalled from the girl's parents thanks to an attorney.
3. Law & Order: SVU, "American Disgrace"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: Ray Rice's domestic violence charges and the Solange Knowles/Jay-Z elevator incident.
Law & Order twist: A basketball player was accused of rape and an elevator video came out jeopardizing a lucrative clothing line deal, but it turned out it was all orchestrated by the owner of the company behind the clothing line who found out his daughter was pregnant with the sports star's kid.
2. Law & Order: SVU, "Patrimonial Burden"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: The Duggars and allegations of sexual abuse by Josh Duggar.
Law & Order twist: A popular reality television family came into the SVU's crosshairs when the 13-year-old daughter got pregnant. The young girl accused the show's cameraman of rape, but he was cleared thanks to a vasectomy. Detectives then turned their attention to Graham, an older Baker sibling with a past history of sexual assault. During the course of the investigation the detectives discovered a young boy wasn't a Baker son, but grandson. So, who did it? The pastor.
1. Law & Order: SVU, "Sick"
Ripped-from-the-headlines story: Michael Jackson sex abuse allegations.
Law & Order twist: A young boy accused billionaire Billy Tripley, a toy store owner, of molestation. They settled and another child accused the billionaire of molestation, but the charges quickly faded away after it was revealed the family was fraudulently claiming the young girl victim was a cancer patient.
MORE PHOTOS: Mariska Hargitay's Law & Order: SVU hair through the years