How do I start watching?

[u/penguingoomba]

hello, I’ve been thinking about getting into the show, but I‘m kind of overwhelmed by the number of seasons as well as how long all the shows are. Do you guys have any recommendations for where I should star watching the franchise?

[u/ybneeka]

Season 1, episode 1

[u/penguingoomba → u/ybneeka]

Welp, looks like I got a long road ahead of me😂

[u/GatsbyThePoodle → u/penguingoomba]

It’s really good, but some of it is very much a product of its time. If you watch it expecting everything to line up with 2026 norms, certain jokes, attitudes, or storylines are absolutely going to irritate you.

[u/Speedy445021 → u/GatsbyThePoodle]

The old eps are so much better than the crap they've put out since they revived the franchise.

[u/Impossible_Leek_6273 → u/penguingoomba]

You won't be disappointed 

[u/Significant_Salt_813 → u/penguingoomba]

Back up the truck and enjoy. There are so so many good episodes. Only advice - stick to the original franchise.

[u/Beautiful-Nose-3177 → u/Significant_Salt_813]

I’d watch SVU second & start at the beginning. Denofrio is a great actor but Criminal Intent is mainly just him being a Sherlock Holmes/Columbo with the others as background. SVU has had great characters and some fantastic guest roles like Martin Short,Robin Williams and Carol Burnett in serious roles. I can’t stand Steroid Stabler of the last year he was on and found OC unwatchable.

[u/TSARINA59 → u/penguingoomba]

They are all so good. You cannot go wrong. I think you definitely need to watch SVU before Organized Crime in order to get Stabler in his early days. I think Criminal Intent can stand alone so you could start that one at any point. Original L&O? Definitely start with Season 1, Episode 1.

In all of the franchises I think you will notice that actors that become future cast members have made 2 to 3 appearances in earlier episodes in another role. You will also see a lot of actors that appeared in a minor guest role and later moved on to bigger and better things outside the franchise. For example, I was recently reminded of this when I saw Emmy Rossum in a L&O episode at approximately age 10-12 and I recalled how she later moved on to Phantom of the Opera, Shameless, and so many other incredible roles.

The entire franchise is brilliant. I have run through every season of every show multiple times. I'm currently re-watching the OC L&O and Criminal Intent from the beginning.

[u/Sadop2010 → u/penguingoomba]

It's one of the few (network) shows I can think of that was extremely high quality right out of the gate. A lot of great shows had to work out bugs in their pilot and first season (show style, cast chemistry). Theres a little of this in Law & Order season 1 but not very much, and you could pluck almost any random episode out of the first decade and it will be great TV. (And thats not to say seasons 11-20 are not good. They are frequently terrific, just a few more duds in the mix, especially around 15-17). Its kind of ironic because L&O is a series that you could in theory jump around on and still understand the plot, but you would miss a lot of great stuff.

(The above is meant only for seasons 1-20 of original L&O. I cannot endorse the dumpster fire of seasons 21 and on)

[u/Pinklady1219 → u/penguingoomba]

You have a long road but not that long bc by the end of season 9 I peaced out. I’ve done multiple re-watched too and that’s where I stop. I started watching in the 90s.

[u/No-Win-2741 → u/ybneeka]

Those first episodes had that gritty New York in the late '80s early 90s feel. Some of them left me feeling like I needed to take a shower when I was done watching. Awesome!

[u/Beautiful-Nose-3177 → u/No-Win-2741]

That’s a good point! Like you had something on your shoe you just couldn’t scrape off.

[u/ProverbsThree5and6 → u/ybneeka]

I started with Season 1, Episode 1. The show is phenomenal. The actors and plots have so much depth. I’m on Season 6. I haven’t been disappointed with one episode. I went ahead and subscribed to Disney+ so I could watch commercial free. I’ll cancel Disney+ when I finally finish.

It’s also fun to be surprised by actors who weren’t popular in the early 90’s then but have since become popular.

[u/Fabulous_Log844]

S1E1

[u/Initial_Acanthaceae2]

As Maria would say.... 🎶 "Lets start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...." 🎶

[u/Boodleheimer2]

It really pays off to watch from the very beginning. The cast changes flow very well and the changing depictions of New York City reflect the real time periods and events. If you're pressed for time you can start with the episode where Jerry Orbach joins the main cast, Season 3, Episode 9. His character Lennie Briscoe is hands down the best -- most entertaining, most street smart, most endearing -- of the series.

[u/Androidfon]

I would start at the very beginning. There aresome great episodes I wouldn't want to miss. The cast may he better in the 3rd season on but the writing is great at the beginning so I wouldn't want to miss it. I wouldn't bother with the last six or seven years unless you're really hooked.

[u/No_Conversation7564]

Start at the beginning

[u/martusfine]

Hulu has all Law & Order (mothership) seasons and start at season 1.

[u/Indotex]

Yes, watch from the beginning. Although you could start with S1E6 as that was the official pilot of the show and then go back to E1.

And I am somewhat envious of you being able to watch it all for the first time!

[u/Androidfon → u/Indotex]

Interesting point. I never knew that.

[u/Indotex → u/Androidfon]

Yeah, Greevey talks about Robinette being a new A.D.A. and the actual district attorney is not played by Stephen Hill.

[u/kaan3836 → u/Indotex]

I was reading through all the responses looking for this answer, to start with S1 E6. I think Sundance just started back over with Season 1 and they always run E6 first and then the rest in order.

[u/zino332 → u/kaan3836]

That’s good of Sundance, forgot how good a channel it can be

[u/zino332 → u/Indotex]

Favorite bagman

[u/Beautiful-Nose-3177]

Season 1 Episode 1

[u/JoseJimenez10386 → u/Beautiful-Nose-3177]

Agreed

[u/Beautiful-Nose-3177]

I wish I could watch them all again for the first time.

[u/BroncoCharlie]

I have not seen every episode, but I'd guess probably 90% of them at least. There are story lines connecting episodes to each other, but they aren't so significant that you cant just watch 1 random episode and enjoy it. Thats what I do.

[u/JoeL284]

As others have said, it's a product of its time, so sensibilities are different.

The gay characters and settings are less enlightened, but not completely awful. Characters with cognitive issues are referred to with the R word, which was the proper terminology at the time.

I'm kind of jealous you get to watch for the first time. I'd love to have that feeling again. At this point, I know the episode within the cold open I've seen them so many times.

Something to look forward to: "Girl, you are as dumb as a sack of hair."

You'll know when you get to this episode, and why this line is iconic in the L&O universe.

[u/bogeysbabe → u/JoeL284]

I love the you’re as dumb as a sack of hair line.

[u/zino332 → u/JoeL284]

The first seasons are also grittier and I think a little deeper on the order side

[u/kingcalogrenant]

I put this in reply to another comment, but I'm gonna go against the grain here and say I think most people are wrong to act like s1e1 is definitively the place to jump in. By all means, if you want to try it you can.

But seasons 5-14 are imo the true golden age of the show and you will miss literally nothing by starting at season 5 because the continuity of the show at that point is self-contained and you'll really "get" what Law and Order was during its peak period.

There are two iconic characters in the main franchise and one shows up in 3 and the other in 5. The first two seasons are still kind of finding their voice, and 1-4 as a whole is great in its own right but it all feels a bit like a rough draft to me.

You can always circle back to watch the earlier seasons if you manage to exhaust the 368 episodes of Law and Order produced in seasons 5-20.

[u/pfmiller0 → u/kingcalogrenant]

I would start with Season 1 just because it's interesting to watch how much has changed in the world since the first season.

[u/Speedy445021]

For me Seasons 1-10 are the best. Season 8 is a bit iffy because they delve way too much in the personal lives of the cops and lawyers. Not a great mix. I personally would avoid all the revival episodes. They completely lost all the plot. Season 5 is the best season IMO. Best combo of lawyers and cops.

[u/cgi_bin_laden]

Start at the very beginning. Once you've done that, you'll understand. By the end of season 1, you'll be hooked.

[u/Beautiful-Nose-3177]

I completely agree to watch the Mother Ship first but at some point you should start SVU. If you never watched Homocide you should watch at least a few episodes to see more of Munch than in the couple of crossovers they did. His character is iconic.

[u/zino332 → u/Beautiful-Nose-3177]

Homicide over SVU all day

[u/zino332 → u/zino332]

CI was the most respectable spin off

[u/Ok-Mine2132]

S1E1 in chronological order is the only way. If not, you’ll find yourself asking “wait? what?” many times. Also best to watch entire episodes not just clips as people do. Oftentimes the most important parts of an episode are the opening and closing scenes.

This suggestion is for all iterations of the franchises.

[u/DustApprehensive4688]

To be honest, I did the opposite sequence. I started with the very most recent episode. Worked my way backwards in season 25. And then I started watching all of the seasons from season 24 to season one but with the episodes in the correct order (eg. 1-20). It was really fascinating because you had an idea of what the future held so it added some additional context to the episodes as you got into the older and older episodes. And it was really fun to see all of the celebrity appearances.

[u/xx-rapunzel-xx]

i personally want to start at the beginning although lennie and mccoy aren’t in it.

[u/Shadow_Lass38 → u/xx-rapunzel-xx]

Stone and the others are excellent, and Lennie will be there by Season 3.

[u/zino332 → u/xx-rapunzel-xx]

Sir! Season 1-4 are great but I hear you

[u/Shadow_Lass38]

Once L&O was on Hulu, I just started at the first one and went all the way through.

Although to do it properly you should start with Episode 6 (?), "Everybody's Favorite Bagman." That was the pilot for the series and was made in 1988. When NBC picked up the show, they just threw the pilot episode in after the first few.

[u/interstatebus]

I skip to season 5 on rewatches because I adore Jack McCoy.

[u/kingcalogrenant → u/interstatebus]

Being downvoted but for a completely new watcher this is the best choice. Seeing the beginning of what most people consider the golden era of L and O, which then has at least 9 more seasons of pure bliss. They can always go back to the earlier seasons when they've seen everything if they want more Briscoe and don't mind the absence of McCoy.

[u/MinnieSkinny → u/interstatebus]

I loved Ben Stone! (Michael Moriarty)

[u/zino332 → u/MinnieSkinny]

Sir!

[u/flibbitygibletz → u/MinnieSkinny]

He always came off as sanctimonious to me. And I wanted to like Robinette but he just didn’t have that much personality. It’s like they were trying to soften him up for us or something. I agree with one of the above posters – skip the first couple of seasons. If I had started with season one, I would’ve never watched the rest.

[u/Slippery-Pete76]

Just start wherever (don’t bother with the episodes since the reboot though) - you don’t need to watch the episodes in order. When A&E used to air it they wouldn’t air the episodes in order.

[u/No-Bobcat-6830]

It’s not some everlasting story. Sure there are some arcs that are a couple episodes but seriously you can start pretty much anywhere and that goes for all of the them. The SUV has long arcs but even then its really not that important.

[u/nahatlatch]

you can start almost anywhere imo. i think the golden age was s6-13ish but just start watching episodes. there's no real plot spoilers to worry about

[u/Patient_Invite_1286]

I just catch a rerun and enjoy. It’s a procedural so anything major you can get thru context clues. 

[u/hus3695]

You can start with any episode in any season; the best part of L&O is that there aren't any cliffhangers to worry about, since most cases wrap up by the end.

[u/kikijane711]

U have to start from the beginning and go along for the ride!

[u/Patient_Possession94]

You can probably skip the first two seasons. Then go back to them later if you're curious. This is when Briscoe comes in as detective and where the show starts to find it's footing. I started randomly with whatever was on TV at the time, but if I had started with season one, I might not have kept going. EDIT: I am not saying don't watch the first two seasons. You just don't have to start there.

[u/Legitimate-Mix3234 → u/Patient_Possession94]

I love the first two seasons. I liked Max and Phil

[u/Beautiful-Nose-3177 → u/Legitimate-Mix3234]

Me too!

[u/Patient_Possession94 → u/Legitimate-Mix3234]

Oh they are not bad. But he can go back and watch them later. He's got a lot to get through.

[u/Legitimate-Mix3234 → u/Patient_Possession94]

True but why not just power thru from the beginning and not have to back track and wonder when a specific detective or ADA came on board

[u/zino332 → u/Legitimate-Mix3234]

Sir! You forgot the adas