The Real Reason Law & Order: SVU Is Losing Longtime Fans

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https://www.looper.com/865508/the-re...longtime-fans/

BY KIM BELL/MAY 17, 2022 10:22 AM EDT

After a spike in ratings following its reintroduction of Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" recently hit, as TV Line reports, "an all-time demo low." While many a former fan has cited the series' supposedly newfound liberal agenda as their reason for revolt (as in this Reddit thread, and this one, and this one ...) the reality is that "Special Victims Unit" has always been inspired by current events. More specifically, like "Law & Order" before it, the series has always promoted a politically progressive agenda (see: its consistent stance on reproductive rights, or Richard Belzer's Munch hating on Newt Gingrich all the way back in Season 1). So, what gives?

While there are several elements at work here (including the interpretive gap between watching a current events-inspired show in real time and watching it in syndication), the biggest danger to the long-running series isn't its politics, but its lackluster approach to storytelling.

In a well-intentioned but disastrously-executed attempt to pull the police procedural into the 21st century, "SVU" sacrificed the two most compelling (not to mention titular) aspects of the series. Current episodes contain little if any investigation, and as a result, the complex lead-up to the trial and trial itself have also been lost. These were the series' main means of depicting, exploring, and organically (read: constructively) promoting its view on a given debate. Without them, "Special Victims Unit" has lost the nuanced plot lines that allowed its stance to come off as thought-provoking, as opposed to preachy, along with any semblance of narrative pull. In fact, "Special Victims Unit" hasn't become more preachy than it already was — its approach has simply become less interesting and effective.