<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> ← Previous Season 19 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> List of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes </Td> </Tr> <P> The twentieth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on Thursday, September 27, 2018, at 9PM ET with a two - part premiere episode . The following Thursday, the series started airing new episodes at 10PM ET . </P> <P> This landmark season of SVU tied it with both the original Law & Order series and Gunsmoke as longest - running scripted non-animated U.S. primetime TV series . </P>

When does season 20 of law & order svu begin