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One of the greatest television spin-offs ever, which has since become the de facto flagship series for the "Law & Order" franchise, is "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Commonly referred to simply as "Svu," the show focuses on police detectives investigating especially heinous crimes in and around New York City. Given the nature of their law enforcement specialization, the characters in "Svu" often face darker, more sexually oriented crimes than the other "Law & Order" shows. The series has gone on to become one of the longest-running scripted primetime television shows of all time, eventually exceeding its predecessor.

Running since 1999, "Svu" is an American television institution, and it has earned that distinction through excellently crafted characters and cases. Whether it's the fan-favorite duo of Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) or newer generations of detectives, "Svu" has maintained a steadily impressive level of quality. For those that are...

Patricia Arquette could be the key to stopping a murderer on this week's "Law & Order: Svu."

In HuffPost TV's exclusive sneak peek below, Arquette's character, Jeannie, a prostitute, is questioned by Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Amaro (Danny Pino) after one of her regular Johns snaps. It seems Jeannie and Benson have a history together.

Here's how NBC describes the episode:

When a man goes on a killing rampage through New York, the lead FBI agent (guest star Jason Gedrick) calls upon the Svu to get information from the suspect's last known contact – a prostitute (guest star Patricia Arquette) who had been involved in one of Benson's (Hargitay) old cases. As the detectives work with her to track down the killer, they find themselves drawn into her world and must fight to save her life. Also starring Ice-t (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Dann Florek (Captain Donald Cragen), Danny Pino (Detective Nick...

Patricia Arquette could be the key to stopping a murderer on this week's "Law & Order: Svu."

In HuffPost TV's exclusive sneak peek below, Arquette's character, Jeannie, a prostitute, is questioned by Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Amaro (Danny Pino) after one of her regular Johns snaps. It seems Jeannie and Benson have a history together.

Here's how NBC describes the episode:

When a man goes on a killing rampage through New York, the lead FBI agent (guest star Jason Gedrick) calls upon the Svu to get information from the suspect’s last known contact – a prostitute (guest star Patricia Arquette) who had been involved in one of Benson’s (Hargitay) old cases. As the detectives work with her to track down the killer, they find themselves drawn into her world and must fight to save her life. Also starring Ice-t (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Dann Florek (Captain Donald Cragen), Danny Pino...

Law & Order: Svu was looking for a pair of actresses to portray a mother and daughter in an upcoming episode, casting news that when coupled with the basic knowledge of how Svu usually handles females characters – if it’s just out of reach for you, just remind yourself the special victims unit usually investigates crimes involving sexual assault – spells disaster for at least one of the actresses. But before we can discuss the terrible things that may or may not be happening to these women, we need to know who has been cast. Do the names Anne Meara and Patricia Arquette mean anything to you?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Meara and Arquette were the two cast to portray mother Irene and her daughter Jeannie respectively in the November episode “Dreams Deferred.” In the episode, a dangerous man goes on a killing spree and Jeannie, a prostitute who has been...

Patricia Arquette is returning to TV with a guest role on "Law & Order: Svu." According to NBC, the "Medium" star will guest alongside Anne Meara.

The two will play mother and daughter in "Dreams Deferred," an episode airing later in November. In the episode, a man goes on a killing spree across New York City and the last person he calls is Jeannie (Arquette), a prostitute he sees on a weekly basis. Jeannie goes missing and it's up to the Svu detectives to convince other officers that Jeannie should be saved. Meara will play Irene, Jeannie's mother.

Jason Gedrick and Pj Brown also guest star.

In other casting news ...

Pedro Pascal has joined the "Graceland" cast. The "Good Wife" actor has landed a multi-episode arc as an FBI agent on the USA drama. [THR]

Gillian Vigman is en route to "Cougar Town." The "Suburgatory" actress is headed to the TBS comedy...