 Apart from "Homicide" and "SVU", however, Belzer's performances as Munch were guest appearances or crossovers rather than regular or recurring appearances.With Munch's retirement in the character's 22nd season on television, he was a regular character on U.S television longer than Marshal Matt Dillon ("Gunsmoke") and Frasier Crane ("Cheers" and "Frasier"), both of whom were on television for 20 seasons.Munch's return to help his friends in the "SVU" seventeenth-season episode "" marks the 23rd season that the character has appeared on television in any capacity.