Spoilers ahead for Episode 7 of Law & Order Season 24, called "Truth and Consequences."
The earliest details about Law & Order's latest episode in the 2024 TV schedule revealed that the team would be on the case of murder within the family of a prominent judge, with Baxter stepping in when a witness refused to cooperate. An exclusive clip even showed Price and Maroun clashing over forcing a student to testify, but none of it spoiled that Hudson University was at the center of the investigation. If I'd been aware, I would have predicted something would go especially wrong, because if I know anything after all the SVU and L&O I've watched, it's that Hudson University is the worst place to go in the nine-show Dick Wolf TV universe.
The murder victim this week? A professor at Hudson U. The killer? A student from Hudson U. The witness who had to risk her education and her place in the United States to testify? Another student from Hudson U. The case came to an unsatisfying ending for both Price and Baxter when Baxter was pressured by the mayor to not force the judge to testify. Nothing good happens at this college!
Now, to be clear – it doesn't reflect poorly on the franchise that Hudson is well known as a bad place to be, because a fictional university can be used for crimes without the complications of mentioning a real-life college in New York City. But Hudson is such a hotbed of crime that it's almost become a running joke that nothing good ever happens there, to the point that then-SVU showrunner Warren Leight even said that "of course" Hudson is where an incident occurred in a Season 21 episode, and I wrote at length about the fictional college's bad rap following a Season 23 episode of the L&O spinoff.
In fact, USA Network – a.k.a. the home of SVU marathons – has run a marathon titled "Don't Go To Hudson University," complete with a special promo:
Don't say we didn't warn you! Don't miss this special "Don't Go To Hudson University" Marathon of @nbcsvu, starting NOW! pic.twitter.com/4bwGG0k89bJanuary 27, 2019
Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU definitely aren't comedies, but if you're somebody who will sit down for a day of these shows or binge-watch with a Peacock subscription, then the odds are probably good that you can appreciate USA giving that name to a marathon. (Fun fact: Seth Rogen is an veteran of binge-watching SVU.) It also wasn't a one-and-done, as the network has run the marathon multiple times over the years:
#SVU moments out of context. See if you can spot them when you watch our "Don't Go To Hudson University" Marathon today on @USA_Network! pic.twitter.com/NDOuy0wvX6January 15, 2023
In all fairness, Hudson University tends to be featured more often on SVU than the original Law & Order, but the Hudson curse struck Season 24 with "Truth and Consequences." This actually is one of my favorite episodes of the season so far, so Hudson is really only a bad place in-universe for characters in Dick Wolf's New York City. For fans who don't have to live in that fictionalized NYC... well, I'm sure those "Don't Go To Hudson University" marathons were watched by plenty of people!
Find out what will go wrong next at Hudson University with new episodes of Law & Order at 8 p.m. ET and Law & Order: SVU at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Thursdays. You can stream both shows on Peacock as well, and probably find an SVU marathon on USA without much trouble!
