Mariska Hargitay has sparked fresh interest in her reported Law & Order: Special Victims Unit salary, with details of her enormous paycheck emerging Thursday.
The 62-year-old Emmy winner has portrayed Olivia Benson—who has since risen from detective to captain—for 27 years, beginning with the show’s premiere in September 1999.
Hargitay expanded her role behind the scenes in 2014, becoming an executive producer starting with season 15 and securing an even larger share of the series’ earnings.
A new report from Variety claims that Hargitay currently earns an extraordinary $850,000 for every episode of the long-running NBC police drama.
Apart from the abbreviated 25th season, which was affected by the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes, SVU has typically produced between 21 and 22 episodes annually over the past five years. Based on that schedule, Hargitay could bring in approximately $17.85 million to $18.7 million during season 28.
The reported figure comes as NBC prepares to broadcast the landmark 600th episode of Law & Order: SVU on Thursday evening.
Mariska Hargitay’s reported Law & Order: Special Victims Unit salary has attracted attention, with the actress pictured on the SVU set in New York City on October 26
Variety reports that Hargitay, 62, earns $850,000 per episode—roughly $17.85 million to $18.7 million across a 21- to 22-episode season
Our News Outlet has contacted representatives for Hargitay and NBC for comment but has not received a response.
The size of Hargitay’s paycheck stands out because SVU continues to produce the lengthy seasons associated with major broadcast networks. By contrast, many top-rated streaming and prestige-cable shows release only six to 12 episodes per season.
For comparison, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are both reportedly paid $2 million per episode for Apple TV+’s drama The Morning Show, amounting to $20 million apiece for a 10-episode season.
According to Page Six, Zendaya recently earned $2 million per episode for the third season of Euphoria.
The leading cast of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building—Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short—are also said to receive $1 million each per episode. The comedy has released 10 episodes in each of its five seasons to date.
A closer comparison may be Ellen Pompeo, who has also spent more than two decades starring on a major network series in Grey’s Anatomy.
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Like Hargitay, Pompeo has remained the face of her show through numerous cast changes. She reportedly earns $20 million per season, with recent installments running to roughly 18 episodes.
After the cast and crew celebrated SVU’s 600th episode at a special dinner, Hargitay revisited the toast she delivered while speaking with Variety.
Hargitay’s reported earnings would place her among television’s highest-paid female performers and stars overall. The news arrives as SVU marks its 600th episode on Thursday
Hargitay recalled telling former ER star Julianna Margulies in 2024 that she feared staying on SVU would make audiences view her as a “one-trick pony.” Margulies replied, “Sweetheart, that ship’s sailed.”
Her former co-star Christopher Meloni, who played Detective Elliot Stabler until leaving in 2011, joined the celebration and is set to make another guest appearance in the 600th episode
“Here we are at episode 600, and it really doesn’t feel totally real—which in a way is exactly how it should feel, because it’s as if we all get to live in this dream of what you thought might be possible someday,” Hargitay said, becoming emotional. “And you’ve shown that it’s not only possible, but it’s so much better than anyone could have imagined.”
Although the milestone was deeply meaningful, Hargitay admitted that attending the celebration was not initially at the top of her list.
“I wanted to go home and go to bed,” she said. Instead, she made the effort to attend and ended up seated alongside series creator Dick Wolf and Christopher Meloni, her former co-star and the original Elliot Stabler.
Meloni has returned for several guest appearances since departing SVU in 2011, and he will once again reunite with Benson in the 600th episode.
What began as an evening Hargitay nearly skipped ultimately became, in her words, “one of the most extraordinary, meaningful nights, and unexpectedly so to me.”
“Dick got up and said, ‘This has never happened, and it will never happen again.’ And everything just landed that night,” she remembered.
Hargitay also opened up about doubts she experienced in 2024, during season 25, when she discussed her future on SVU with Julianna Margulies.
“I said, ‘I’ve got to leave the show too. I don’t want people to think I’m a one-trick pony.’”
Margulies responded: “Sweetheart, that ship’s sailed.”
