For 25 seasons, executive producer Dick Wolf’s

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has been

known to depict harrowing scenes in an extremely

effective way. And without a question, the suspenseful,

yet nuanced music is a major factor as to why these moments pack such an emotional punch.

How to Watch
Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Thursdays on NBC and next day on Peacock.

On April 29, SVU’s composer, Grammy winner Mike Post, explained how he and Dick Wolf put their heads together to take viewers on a journey via the show’s music.

Fans of the franchise are familiar with the episodic structure of SVU: The first half shows the scene of the crime and the team hunting down the perpetrator, while the second half depicts the courtroom drama aspect.

“Right away I knew that the music had to be sort of split. More ‘street’ to the first half, and it has more ‘majesty’ of the court room and drama in the second half,” Post explained. “That’s something that the audience isn’t supposed to intellectually digest so much as feel. The audience isn’t even supposed to be aware that I’m even around.”