John Munch

John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appears on the American crime drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street on NBC. A regular through the entire run of the series, Munch is a cynical detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide unit, and is originally partnered with Det. Stanley Bolander (Ned Beatty). On the cancellation of Homicide in 1999, Munch became a regular the Law & Order spin off, Law & Order Special Victims Unit, after Belzer was offered a regular role on the show, and has been with the show all fourteen seasons. On SVU, Munch is a senior detective in the New York Police Department's Special Victims Unit, and is first partnered with Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters), followed by Monique Jeffries (Michelle Hurd), and Fin Tutuola (Ice-T). In the ninth season premiere, Munch is promoted to the rank of Sergeant and occasionally takes on supervisory functions within the department.

Munch is based on Jay Landsman, a central figure in David Simon's true crime book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. The character of Munch has appeared in more television series than any other fictional character, appearing in nine series on five networks since the character's debut in 1993.