Where Is Law & Order Filmed? A Look at the NYC Locations

There’s no ignoring New York City’s mythic presence when watching the Law & Order franchise.

How to Watch

Watch the Season 26 premiere of Law & Order Thursday, October 8 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC and next day on Peacock.

For more than three decades, New York City has been one of the most recognizable fixtures of the Law & Order universe. Detectives race down busy streets, prosecutors walk up courthouse steps, and squad members track suspects through virtually every corner of the Big Apple. The city isn’t simply where these gripping ripped-from-headlines cases unfold; it has helped shape the reality these detectives navigate, keeping fans coming back for more.

While some scenes are shot on sets, both Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit have long been famous for taking their cameras and storylines out into the city, often swapping filming locations for whatever the latest case requires. Read on to learn more about Law & Order and SVU’s filming locations through the years.

Is Law & Order filmed in New York City?

Yes. Since Law & Order’s debut and SVU’s arrival in 1999, New York City has long been the backdrop the NBC dramas, and that’s because production doesn’t pretend to be filming anywhere else. Rather than relying entirely on a backlot designed to look like Manhattan, the production uses the real city as its canvas, allowing flexibility between episodes and access to all five boroughs.

Many of the Law & Order interior scenes — such as the 21st Precinct and SVU’s 16th Precinct — are filmed on sets. Ice T’s daughter has visited him on SVU’s set through the years, even sitting at Olivia Benson’s desk.

Exterior shots have taken place at real buildings that continue to serve their everyday purposes. For example, the external courthouse scenes for Law & Order are filmed at the New York County Courthouse (60 Centre St), and the detectives are often spotted hanging around the nearby Foley Square and real-life One Police Plaza.

Law & Order’s Hugh Dancy spoke with NBC Insider about the thrills of filming on location, calling the show “intrinsically New York.” Dancy continued, “It’s a part of the DNA of the city, and in turn, the city is part of the DNA of the show. So it feels great.”

SVU star Corey Cott echoed the sentiment while chatting with NBC Insider about filming in Grand Central Station in the middle of the night for a Season 27 episode.

“It’s incredible, I mean, obviously anyone who’s ever watched SVU knows New York is kind of like the central character behind the squad,” Cott gushed. “[I’m] sprinting down these tracks, trying to catch the perp. Shooting in the main terminal of Grand Central Station, I mean that production value alone is like… who else gets to do that?”

Cott continued, “It was probably about 2:30 or 3 [in the morning], and Kevin Kane and I were just sprinting through the main terminal of Grand Central Station… and going after a bad guy as he ducks into a train track. I had to stop and just go like, ‘This is as cool as it gets.’ This is just the mecca of TV. It’s as cool as it gets.”

Can you visit Law & Order filming locations?

Yes, although fans should think of it more as exploring the Big Apple through a Law & Order lens than visiting an official television attraction. Because so much of the franchise is filmed on location, viewers will recognize real NYC settings from the shows while walking around the city. Some locations are public spaces or iconic exteriors that fans can spot for themselves, while others are private buildings that aren’t open for tour-style access.

For example, fans can grab a photo on the iconic courthouse steps, the place of countless thrilling courtroom conclusions. The courthouse is conveniently located near Manhattan’s beautiful Foley Square, the public park where dozens of detectives have been seen catching up on cases while sneaking in a cup of coffee on the shows. Fans can also stop by One Police Plaza (1 Police Plaza Path), the HQ of the real NYPD and the backdrop to dozens of procedurals, including Law & Order and SVU.

In fact, if you’re visiting NYC in the late summer and fall, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to run into Law & Order or SVU production while roaming out and about. As Law & Order stars Dancy and Odelya Halevi revealed, the cast often gets recognized by locals and visiting tourists who catch them filming on the streets and can’t help but weigh in on the action.

“There would be the people who don’t care. They’re on their phone, and they’ll just pass through your shot,” Halevi told NBC Insider with a laugh. “And then, you’ll get the fans who are visiting New York, and all of a sudden, ‘Oh, there’s Law & Order filming here!’ And they’ll take pictures and videos, which just makes you feel good.”

Where is the Law & Order studio?

Law & Order is filmed all over the Big Apple, with studio spaces handling the scenes that can’t or shouldn’t be filmed on the busy city streets. There isn’t one singular spot where every Law & Order scene is filmed. The production uses a combination of soundstage interiors and locations around New York City’s five boroughs, especially Manhattan. In the past, Law & Order has used studio space at Chelsea Piers for interior production.

Filming on location allows the creators to match the location to the storyline instead of forcing every episode into the same set. And as Law & Order star Tony Goldwyn puts it perfectly, “There’s no better city to shoot in than New York.”

“It’s just such a great place,” Goldwyn told NBC Insider. “I mean, the other night when we did that reshoot for the first episode. At night, showing up on the East River with this incredible view of downtown Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge, and it’s just like ‘Wow.’ What a cool place to come to work.”

As New York City has changed, so have Law & Order and SVU throughout the years, and while the cases evolve and the detectives come and go, the Big Apple will always remain.

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