"Lost Reputation" is the fourteenth season premiere of the police procedural television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and the 296th overall episode.

In the episode, the Special Victims Unit detectives try to stop a growing scandal when Captain Cragen (Dann Florek) is arrested for the murder of an escort, Carissa Gibson (Pippa Black).

Meanwhile, Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) has to juggle trying to solve the case against Cragen without losing his family in the process.

The episode was written by show runner/executive producer Warren Leight and Julie Martin and was directed by Michael Slovis.

According to the Nielsen ratings, the episode's original broadcast with "Above Suspicion" following was watched by an average of 7.19 million total viewers and received a 2.1/6% share in the 18–49 age demographic, up slightly from the season thirteen finale.

The Special Victims Unit is reeling from the fallout after Captain Cragen (Dann Florek) wakes up with a dead escort - a potential witness in an SVU case - in his bed.

Tensions run high at the precinct as the detectives contend with Bureau Chief ADA Paula Foster's (Paget Brewster) investigation of Cragen, who is eventually picked up and hauled to jail, Detective Benson (Mariska Hargitay) determined to get down to the truth and prove Cragen's innocence.

Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) is determined to solve the case against Cragen as well, his wife Maria (Laura Benanti) leaving him for a job in Washington D.C., taking their daughter with her.

We kept a lot of plates spinning and it was just a thrill to get to work in a longer form, For Dann Florek I don't think it was too much fun.

"[6] NBC did not release a promo/trailer for the season premiere episode(s) until Friday, September 7, 2012, online; the promo aired on television the next night.

Brewster has guest starred on SVU before, in the eighth season episode, "Scheherazade", as the daughter of an elderly dying man, (Brian Dennehy) believed to be a murderer.

Brewster said of moving on from Criminal Minds, "[...] last year I decided that I wanted to challenge myself, and doing these episodes of Law & Order: SVU has proven me right."

Brewster noted of her character, BC ADA Foster, "I'm despised by the detectives," she says with a laugh, adding "I've been able to work with everybody, but especially with Mariska Hargitay!"

When her Criminal Minds contract was up she announced she was leaving the show, Brewster saying, "I told my agent and manager, 'Listen, tell me everything that you hear about, but basically I want to do comedy."

"[5] Brewster's character installs an interim commanding officer, Captain Steven Harris (portrayed by Adam Baldwin), while Cragen is suspended and under investigation.

"[4] Leight told TV Guide about Baldwin's Captain Harris character, "He comes into situations that are all screwed up, and his job is to figure out who's straight, who's corrupt, who can he trust to restore order.

That's an interesting guy to throw into SVU, because Olivia and Amaro are pieces that don't like other people moving them.

"It’s a big scandal within the world we’ve created, there’s a dead hooker in the captain’s bed, and we go to a newscaster to help us understand the story," said show runner/executive producer Warren Leight, "Sue opens the episode doing a news standup from outside 1 Police Plaza.

Leight continued that, when the decision was being made to cast the part by using an actor or a real newscaster, "six of us thought of Sue at the same time.

For me, Law & Order: SVU has always been about the ripped-from-the-headlines stories and watching how those murders or sexual assaults affect the detectives.

"[16] Frederick added, "While there's a lot of talk about the Law & Order formula, SVU has made its name on fleshing out its ensemble within that framework, and that's still what it's best at.

Mariska Hargitay continued to demonstrate why she is an Emmy winner and Paget Brewster did an exceptional job as Bureau Chief ADA Paula Foster.

Pino's intensity radiated through the screen as his character Nick Amaro dealt with his wife and daughter's departure, accusations that he was inappropriate with a dead prostitute and being on the outs with his team."

Burton added, The classic "whodunit" storyline kept Twitter fans guessing as the hashtag #Free Cragen trended worldwide last night.

The feedback from fans online has been very positive with some commenting that they will begin watching again after taking last season off due to the absence of Meloni.

[17] On Huffington Post, former sex crimes prosecutor Allison Leotta said that "SVU opened its season with a roller-coaster of a double episode."

Leotta gave the episode an "A−", saying "Perhaps the least plausible part of the story, however, was that Cragen hired those prostitutes just for their conversation and companionship.

"[18] In its original American broadcast on September 26, 2012, both "Lost Reputation" and "Above Suspicion" aired as a two-hour season premiere on NBC, viewed by 7.19 million viewers and acquired a 2.1 rating/6% share in the age 18–49 demographic.

"Lost Reputation" and "Above Suspicion" were the most watched programs on NBC that night, beating new episodes of its lead-ins Guys With Kids, and Animal Practice.

"Lost Reputation" was the third ranked program in the timeslot under season premiere episodes of Criminal Minds on CBS and Modern Family on ABC.