When does Law and Order SVU season 20 premiere?

When does Law and Order SVU season 20 premiere? Find out the Law and Order SVU season 20 premiere date and when the new season of SVU will start.

When does Law and Order SVU season 20 premiere? NBC has officially told TV fans when the series will return for its impressive 20th season, but it comes with a bit of a catch.

After the 19th season ended with a two-hour event, the network has decided to repeat that idea to start the new season. NBC’s press release reveals that the season premiere will be another two episodes back to back.

That means that the Law and Order SVU season 20 premiere is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 27 at 9:00 p.m. on NBC. It’s exactly one year to the day from the season 19 premiere!

But obviously, because that’s double the size, that’s not the show’s regular time slot. The rest of the season will air an hour later, on Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. (in the time slot formerly occupied by Dick Wolf‘s other series Chicago Fire).

This is a day later and an hour later than Special Victims Unit aired this past season, when it was the lead-in for Chicago PD.

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But if you’ve been watching the show this long, it’s also back to more of what you’re used to. The series aired in that later time slot beginning with the tenth episode of its first season through the tenth season, and also in season 13.

SVU season 20 will be the first time the series has landed on Thursdays, though. It’s aired on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays before—so now it’s filled out literally every weekday on NBC’s primetime schedule. That’s another accomplishment for the record books.

Next: Here are this month's available SVU reruns

Are you excited that there will be a two-hour SVU season premiere? Thoughts about the show’s move to Thursday nights? Let us know your reaction to the scheduling news in the comments, and we’ll see you on Sept. 27 with new episodes!