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These 9 Memes Celebrate 20 Seasons Of 'Law & Order: SVU'

by Megan Walsh

Law & Order: SVU has been one of the most beloved installments in the franchise for a long, long time. In fact, its 20th season is set to premiere soon. That's right: this show has been on TV for two straight decades, giving you something reliable to watch no matter what hour of the day it is. This show is a legal adult now. In a year, it will be able to drink. So here are 9 SVU memes to celebrate Law & Order SVU's 20th anniversary, because there's no better way to celebrate than with a meme.

SVU returns for Season 20 on Sept. 27 on NBC with the two-part episode "Man Up / Man Down." Over the years, there have been guest stars, unexpected moments of inappropriate comedy, genuine heartbreak, and countless Mariska Hargitay haircuts. And there might be many more, because at a Paley Center event, NBC's Robert Greenblatt said that the show will continue as long as Hargitay is still interested. Luckily, it seems like she'll be happy to play Olivia Benson for a long time.

"I'm just so full of gratitude and so excited that I get to do what I love to do every day," Hargitay told E! News ahead of the new season. "When you're just in it, it's hard to fully take it in. So I'm just grateful for this role, for this part, for [Dick Wolf's] vision and that I've gotten to mine a character for so long that is still deeply challenging to me and inspiring to me and necessary and timely, and I think truly changing the culture."

Law & Order: SVU has given its audience endless hours of entertainment, so here are 9 instances of the audience giving a little entertainment back.

The Eternal Marathon

With 20 seasons' worth of episodes (and 19 to 25 episodes a season), fans of SVU will almost never run out of content. And that means they'll never run out of memes, either, so they don't have to worry about holding back.

True / False

One of the most popular SVU memes involves taking a screencap featuring Ice-T's Detective Fin Tutuola and slapping a totally made up (yet oddly believable) caption on it of a nonsensical crime. If this show goes another 20 years, it may need to return to these memes for ideas.

These Are Their Stories

Another meme pays homage to former cast member Chris Meloni, who played Detective Elliot Stabler. To make your own, you just have to snag a picture of Meloni in an... unusual stance and add the show's key subtitle: "These are their stories."

DUN DUN

The most memorable part of any series under the Law & Order umbrella is the music. After the opening credits run and the title flashes on the screen, every viewer prepares to hear the telltale "DUN DUN" that means the episode is about to begin. And sometimes the universe provides you with a perfect reminder of that sound.

Super Duper Snoopers

If you've watched SVU for long enough, then you're as much of an expert as one of the detectives on the show — or maybe even more of one.

True Detective

Sometimes you get so good at solving the crimes of SVU that it gives you a little boost in an otherwise disappointing work day.

Back Off, Buddy

Then there are the moments where nothing sends a message quite like SVU can.

Bon Mots Abound

It continues.

Detective Tutuola is basically a one man meme-machine. No matter how absurd the line, you can believe that he would totally sell it.

The Newest Trend

Case in point: no matter how ridiculous the memes get, Tutuola could probably pull it off.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has become one of the constants of the TV landscape, and its fans wouldn't have it any other way.