Since the very first episode of Law & Order aired in 1990, the franchise has seen multiple changes inside its precincts. Detective changes are as commonplace as the number of cases they solve each week, yet some partnerships have gone on to be the most impactful and memorable in the Law & Order universe.

While some detective team-ups have been short and uneventful, others have become the measuring stick for the shows and the universe as a whole. After more than three decades on the air, we’re ranking the top partner pairings in the Law & Order franchise.

10. Nichols and Stevens

Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Season 9)

Through the last remaining seasons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, both Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe) and Robert Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio) were written off the show after both cast members left after season 8. With their exits, as well as the exits of both Mike Logan (Chris Noth) and Megan Wheeler (Julianne Nicholson), the show introduced Zack Nichols (Jeff Goldblum) in season 8, as well as Serena Stevens (Saffron Burrows).

The turbulent final seasons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent had a significant amount of turnover, but the introduction of Nichols and Stevens brought a much-needed change of pace to the show. Nichols’ intense, inquisitive approach made an effortless connection with Stevens’ easier but no less curious manner. With only one season under their belt, we wish these two had more time together to flourish in the Major Case Squad.

9. Fontana and Falco

Law & Order (Season 15)

After the death of Jerry Orbach, who played the iconic Lenny Briscoe on Law & Order, the series worked to find a worthy replacement. Veteran actor Dennis Farina joined the cast as Joe Fontana, with the cast and producers hopeful to see the right connection with Det. Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin). When Martin took a small break to complete filming of the screen adaptation of Rent, The Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli was brought in as Det. Nick Falco during season 15 to replace him.

Fontana never felt the right fit in the senior detective role, likely because fans weren’t ready to accept anyone but Briscoe in the role, but the brief pairing of Fontana and Falco felt natural, with both utilizing their no-nonsense city attitudes to solve the toughest murders in the precinct. Farina did well, but it was Imperioli who truly shone in the role, allowing him a welcome change of pace on the other side of the law.

8. Goren and Eames

Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Seasons 1-8, 10)

The main duo of Law & Order: Criminal Intent was Robert Goren and Alexandra Eames, two unique detectives with a knack for cracking some of the most difficult cases in the Major Case Squad. Goren’s unique intensity and eccentricity paired particularly well with Eames’ calmer, more direct approach, and for the first eight seasons, the duo felt unstoppable.

Burnout from the sometimes grueling schedule that Law & Order keeps caused the pair to split in the eighth season, but saw them return for the final season of the show, a moment that fans welcomed warmly. Although there were several solid pairings throughout the show’s run, there were none better than Goren and Eames.

7. Briscoe and Curtis

Law & Order (Seasons 6-9)

Lenny Briscoe was a staple of Law & Order, making every partner he worked with shine, some brighter than others. His second pairing with Det. Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) was a welcome departure from the more serious and often mismatched tone of his previous one with Mike Logan (Chris Noth).

Briscoe and Curtis played exceptionally well together, with Briscoe’s tough New York lifer approach to cases rarely clashing with Curtis’ mostly even-keeled approach. With 3 seasons together, Briscoe and Curtis’ dynamic brought new life to the storied program, one that carried it through the end of the 1990s.

6. Briscoe and Munch

Law & Order (Season 8, episode 6 | Season 9, episode 14)

Never an official pairing, there’s nothing more that Law & Order fans loved than seeing these two grouchy cops, Briscoe and John Munch (Richard Belzer), investigate cases together, both on Law & Order and Homicide: Life On The Street. Paired together in two episodes of Law & Order and one for Homicide, Briscoe and Munch were the perfect pairing that should have happened.

By the time Homicide wrapped up in its seventh season, Munch could have been paired permanently with Briscoe, as Benjamin Bratt had indicated he was moving on from the series. With his replacement, Jesse L. Martin, already in tow, Belzer’s Munch character landed inside the Law & Order universe on their new spinoff, Law & Order: SVU. The rest, as they say, was history for Munch, but it would have been so much fun to see these two spar each week, solving cases together over more sandwiches from Carnegie Deli.

5. Lupo and Bernard

Law & Order (Seasons 18-20)

The last pairing during the original Law & Order run, Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto) and Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson) became the new age Briscoe and Curtis, paired fantastically after several seasons of misguided partner pairings. Lupo, having last worked with Ed Green, was a better fit for the show than the previous attempts with Fontana and others, who cycled out quickly, and his pairing with Bernard became the successful formula the show had been looking for.

With Law & Order‘s original run winding down and viewership sluggish, Lupo and Bernard could have had a long partnership together if the show had continued past its 20th season. With differentiating opinions that caused some static between them, Lupo and Bernard had a more engaging, and more connected, partnership through the end of its first run.

4. Munch and Tutuola

Law & Order: SVU (Seasons 2-9)

If we couldn’t have Lenny Briscoe with SVU‘s John Munch as permanent partners, Law & Order fans got something a little better: Munch’s pairing with Det. Odafinn “Finn” Tutuola (Ice-T). For seven seasons, Munch and Finn rivaled Benson and Stabler as SVU’s most dynamic duo, putting Munch’s conspiracy theorist grumpiness against Finn’s street-smart, deadpan approach.

There hasn’t been a better pairing, outside our number one pick, on SVU than Munch and Finn, and together they brought some of the best case-solving techniques and sarcasm to the halls of the SVU. We sure miss Munch, and the late Richard Belzer, for that matter, but we’re glad to be able to revisit this partnership as often as we’d like.

3. Benson and Rollins

Law & Order: SVU (Seasons 13-25)

In the aftermath of the exit of Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) from Law & Order: SVU, Benson struggled with working with someone new, with Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) becoming her next partner at the beginning of season 13. Through 12 seasons, the dynamic morphed from an unwilling partnership to a partnership founded on mutual respect, mentorship, and a deep bond, both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes.

Benson and Rollins became one of the most impactful and talked-about partnerships in the history of both Law & Order: SVU and the franchise itself, and the first time two women leads were partnered together. With Kelli Giddish’s upcoming return to Law & Order: SVU in season 27, we’re excited to see a proper return to form for these two.

2. Briscoe and Green

Law & Order (Seasons 10-14)

Although Lenny Briscoe was an icon on Law & Order in his own right, the magic of his work came from his partnerships. While we loved him with Munch and Curtis, we loved him the most with Ed Green. For four seasons, Briscoe and Green fired on all cylinders, providing the best pairing for Briscoe and allowing Green to shine in his role as the proverbial good cop to Briscoe’s more direct approach.

Briscoe and Green’s partnership revived Law & Order at the turn of the century and brought additional viewers back to the show. It’s still the best pairing to occur in the show’s tenure thus far. Green floundered a bit in the wake of Briscoe’s death, but his work with the fabled detective made him better, and we’re grateful to have been along for their ride.

1. Benson and Stabler

Law & Order: SVU (Seasons 1-12)

In the history of the Law & Order universe, there’s been no better, no deeper, and no more impactful partnership than that of Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson. For the first 12 seasons of Law & Order: SVU, Benson and Stabler set the bar for what makes Law & Order and its franchise shows so good: deeply connected partners who work together, personally and professionally.

Benson’s trajectory continued in a post-Stabler SVU, allowing her to grow in the ranks while mentoring the new members of the Special Victims Unit. When Stabler returned to the Law & Order franchise with Law & Order: Organized Crime, we were overjoyed to see Benson become such an integral part of his new story arc, and to see Benson and Stabler connect again in a new, more dramatic fashion.