Show cover for Law & Order

The Best Episodes of Law & Order

Every episode of Law & Order ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Law & Order!

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into...
Genres:CrimeDrama
Network:NBC

Best Episodes Summary

"Aftershock" is the best rated episode of "Law & Order". It scored 9.1/10 based on 881 votes. Directed by Martha Mitchell and written by N/A, it aired on 5/22/1996. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "Pro Se".

  • Aftershock
    9.1/10881 votes
    Loading...

    #1 - Aftershock

    Season 6 Episode 23 - Aired 5/22/1996

    After Briscoe, Curtis, McCoy, and Kincaid witness the execution of a criminal they brought to justice, their unique reactions to the event culminate in personal tragedies for each of them.

    Director: Martha Mitchell

    Writer: N/A

  • Pro Se
    8.8/10533 votes
    Loading...

    #2 - Pro Se

    Season 6 Episode 21 - Aired 5/8/1996

    The investigation into multiple homicides at a clothing store leads to the arrest of a schizophrenic who presents McCoy with a formidable opponent when he decides to represent himself.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Invaders
    8.8/10467 votes
    Loading...

    #3 - Invaders

    Season 16 Episode 22 - Aired 5/17/2006

    The family of a man who once turned his customers into the police is slain, and the ensuing fracas pits McCoy against a corrupt D.E.A. agent.

    Director: Matthew Penn

    Writer: N/A

  • Couples
    8.7/10443 votes
    Loading...

    #4 - Couples

    Season 13 Episode 23 - Aired 5/21/2003

    Briscoe and Green catch four murders and a kidnapping on the same day, and get handed confessions in each case.

    Director: David Platt

    Writer: N/A

  • Refuge (Part II)
    8.6/10378 votes
    Loading...

    #5 - Refuge (Part II)

    Season 9 Episode 24 - Aired 5/26/1999

    McCoy and Carmichael risk violating the civil liberties of witnesses when they are forced to jail them in order to safely continue their investigation.

    Director: Constantine Makris

    Writer: N/A

  • Bodies
    8.6/10473 votes
    Loading...

    #6 - Bodies

    Season 14 Episode 1 - Aired 9/24/2003

    While investigating the death of a teenaged girl, the detectives stumble on a pattern of crimes that indicate they are after a serial killer. The suspect, however, puts the prosecutors through an ethical ringer when he discloses his attorney's knowledge of the victims and their whereabouts.

    Director: Constantine Makris

    Writer: N/A

  • Identity
    8.6/10416 votes
    Loading...

    #7 - Identity

    Season 14 Episode 6 - Aired 11/5/2003

    When a man is found murdered shortly after depositing almost $400,000 in his savings account, the investigation into the source of funds reveals that the victim ran an identity theft scam which left an elderly man homeless and impoverished.

    Director: Jace Alexander

    Writer: N/A

  • Rubber Room
    8.6/10452 votes
    Loading...

    #8 - Rubber Room

    Season 20 Episode 23 - Aired 5/24/2010

    Detectives search for an anonymous blogger who has posted plans to blow up a school. Lt. Van Buren struggles to keep her personal issues private.

    Director: René Balcer

    Writer: N/A

  • Refuge
    8.5/10369 votes
    Loading...

    #9 - Refuge

    Season 9 Episode 23 - Aired 5/26/1999

    A shootout between a motorist and the police leads to the discovery of a gruesome Russian mob killing --- and a traumatized boy who was an eyewitness to the murder.

    Director: Constantine Makris

    Writer: N/A

  • Indifference
    8.4/10551 votes
    Loading...

    #10 - Indifference

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/27/1990

    During the investigation into the death of a little girl in a respectable, middle-class family, Greevey and Logan uncover a myriad of family secrets involving abuse, molestation, and murder.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Robert Palm

  • Prince of Darkness
    8.4/10398 votes
    Loading...

    #11 - Prince of Darkness

    Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 11/18/1992

    Cerreta poses as a weapons dealer to help Stone build a case against a Columbian hit man, but the deal takes an unexpected turn, resulting in bloodshed.

    Director: Gilbert M. Shilton

    Writer: N/A

  • American Dream
    8.4/10345 votes
    Loading...

    #12 - American Dream

    Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 11/9/1993

    A skeleton unearthed at a building site resurrects one of Stone's old cases, and brings him face to face with the tenacious, brilliant culprit, who is seeking a new trial.

    Director: Constantine Makris

    Writer: N/A

  • Old Friends
    8.4/10358 votes
    Loading...

    #13 - Old Friends

    Season 4 Episode 22 - Aired 5/25/1994

    A truck hits a pedestrian and the investigation reveals the victim's link to a baby-food company in which a new partner has connections to the Russian mob.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Showtime
    8.4/10350 votes
    Loading...

    #14 - Showtime

    Season 7 Episode 17 - Aired 3/27/1997

    The trial of Eddie Newman begins but the prosecution's chances of conviction are hampered by a "dream team" of defense attorneys, Gorton's personal pressures on Ross, the public questioning of the relationship between Curtis and Lisa Lundquist, and a surprise accusation.

    Director: Edwin Sherin

    Writer: René Balcer, Ed Zuckerman, Gardner Stern

  • Red Ball
    8.4/10332 votes
    Loading...

    #15 - Red Ball

    Season 16 Episode 1 - Aired 9/21/2005

    A young girl is abducted in broad daylight, and the only link to the girl is an ex-convict who wants a deal before he's willing to talk.

    Director: Matthew Penn

    Writer: Dick Wolf, David Wilcox

  • Criminal Law
    8.4/10322 votes
    Loading...

    #16 - Criminal Law

    Season 16 Episode 9 - Aired 11/23/2005

    The deaths of three women with the same name lead Fontana and Green to the nine-year-old conviction of Leland Barnes, who had shot and killed his wife in an office full of people. With two of the three witnesses against him dead and Jack McCoy on the hit list, the detectives struggle to determine how Barnes, who has been in prison the entire time, got someone on the outside to kill the only people who could keep him in jail. The investigation leads them to Leland's two sons, with surprising results.

    Director: Edwin Sherin

    Writer: David Wilcox

  • By Perjury
    8.4/10308 votes
    Loading...

    #17 - By Perjury

    Season 19 Episode 9 - Aired 1/14/2009

    The murder of the plaintiff in a high-profile lawsuit against a major airline leads detectives to a defense attorney (Dallas Roberts) who is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure his big payday.

    Director: Darnell Martin

    Writer: N/A

  • Last Dance
    8.4/10272 votes
    Loading...

    #18 - Last Dance

    Season 23 Episode 5 - Aired 2/22/2024

    When a woman is found murdered in Central Park, evidence points to two frequent park-goers: a street vendor and a tech billionaire. In the face of extreme political pressure, McCoy takes drastic action to make the case.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Helpless
    8.3/10386 votes
    Loading...

    #19 - Helpless

    Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 11/4/1992

    Dr. Olivet accuses her gynecologist of rape, but Stone finds his case in trouble when he discovers that Olivet tape-recorded the crime.

    Director: James Frawley

    Writer: Christine Roum

  • Corruption
    8.3/10364 votes
    Loading...

    #20 - Corruption

    Season 7 Episode 5 - Aired 10/30/1996

    Curtis, angered by the attitude of an old colleague of Briscoe's, looks beyond the findings of an IAB investigation and turns up evidence of police corruption that puts the DA's office into competition with an ambitious judge and Briscoe under investigation for stealing evidence from a police lockup.

    Director: Matthew Penn

    Writer: N/A

  • Double Down
    8.3/10333 votes
    Loading...

    #21 - Double Down

    Season 7 Episode 19 - Aired 4/16/1997

    The cops' best hope of finding a kidnapped hired car driver alive is one of the armed robbers who grabbed him after a job, but the immunity deal he demands in return would effectively preclude his prosecution for the shooting death of an off-duty cop, placing McCoy in a difficult position as he seeks to placate the cops, who want the guy prosecuted, and the kidnapped man's wife, who wants every avenue of saving her husband explored.

    Director: Arthur W. Forney

    Writer: Shimon Wincelberg

  • Terminal
    8.3/10344 votes
    Loading...

    #22 - Terminal

    Season 7 Episode 23 - Aired 5/21/1997

    The cops uncover a man with a secret second life as they try to learn who opened fire on a group of people disembarking from a party cruise, but his guilt or innocence becomes almost a second thought as Schiff goes toe to toe with the governor and the States Attorney General over the decision to seek the death penalty.

    Director: Constantine Makris

    Writer: N/A

  • Blood
    8.3/10411 votes
    Loading...

    #23 - Blood

    Season 8 Episode 7 - Aired 11/19/1997

    The paternity of a black baby given up for adoption by a white mother might provide a clue to her murderer but it also unearths some long buried family secrets.

    Director: Jace Alexander

    Writer: N/A

  • Killerz
    8.3/10458 votes
    Loading...

    #24 - Killerz

    Season 10 Episode 2 - Aired 9/29/1999

    Briscoe and Green believe a 10-year-old is responsible for a child's death, and McCoy wants her isolated to stop any future fatalities.

    Director: Constantine Makris

    Writer: N/A

  • Hubris
    8.3/10345 votes
    Loading...

    #25 - Hubris

    Season 11 Episode 9 - Aired 1/10/2001

    An assistant manager at a jewelers discovers four bodies at the store, leading to the prosecution of an amiable murder suspect who insists on representing himself, and winning the admiration of a female juror.

    Director: Constantine Makris

    Writer: Kathy McCormick