Overview

• Season 5 premiered April 17 with a two-episode event airing on NBC as part of a crossover with 'Law & Order' and 'SVU,' and is now streaming on Peacock with weekly episodes releasing every Thursday.
• Detective Elliot Stabler, played by Christopher Meloni, goes undercover to infiltrate a trucking-based drug and human trafficking operation, marking a darker serialized narrative for the show.
• The season explores high-stakes themes like cross-border smuggling, domestic terrorism, and a vendetta from an Italian crime family tied to Stabler’s past in Rome.
• Christopher Meloni made his writing debut with the second episode, which highlights nuanced character dynamics, including a reunion with Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson.
• Family dynamics take center stage with Dean Norris promoted to a series regular as Stabler’s brother Randall, and Stabler’s son Eli joining the NYPD while preparing for fatherhood.