The 2026 TV schedule won’t be without the Law & Order franchise, as both the Mothership series and SVU will be back this fall. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Organized Crime, as the Chris Meloni-led spinoff was canceled by Peacock after five seasons. Fans have hoped for one thing since the cancellation, which is the return of Meloni’s Elliot Stabler. While nothing concrete has been announced, Meloni’s recent comments have me worried.

Since Meloni returned to the L&O franchise via Organized Crime in 2021, fans have been able to get reacquainted with Stabler, as well as his slow-burn relationship with Marsika Hargitay's Olivia Benson. On that same token, Meloni and Mariska Hargitay’s real-life friendship remains intact as well. The chemistry between the two stars is arguably why fans want to see Meloni back on SVU. Well, after seeing Meloni's vague response to Collider, fans may want to pump the brakes:

It’s definitely not unusual for characters from a canceled spinoff to still show up within the Law & Order franchise. Considering Meloni’s popularity and how beloved Stabler is, there's probably still a possibility that he pop up on SVU or even Law & Order next season. Nevertheless, his sentiments don't inspire much assurance right now.

SVU showrunner and executive producer Michele Fazekas previously weighed in on Meloni’s potential return, revealing that it wouldn’t make sense to just drop Stabler into an unimportant scene and have him appear just for the heck of it. She wants to bring him in “with a purpose.” Additionally, Fazekas expressed her interest in bringing the character back every once in a while, so it just has to be right for the story, which is understandable.

At the very least, fans may not be able to see Elliot Stabler any time soon, but Meloni will be back on screens before you know it. Last year, Meloni stars in the new Hulu drama, The Land, from This Is Us and Paradise creator Dan Fogelman. The series wrapped filming in April so, hopefully, that means the football-centered show will premiere sooner rather than later.

Even though Meloni's future as Elliot Stabler remains uncertain, I'll be doing my best to remain optimistic on that front. In the meantime, fans can get their fix by streaming classic episodes with a Peacock subscription. Both Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU will return for new seasons on Thursday, October 8 on NBC, streaming the next day on Peacock.

Mariska Hargitay is the longest-running actor in the Law & Order franchise and, at this point, she's arguably the face of the franchise. Having been a mainstay on SVU since it premiered in 1999 (and continues its run amid the 2026 TV schedule), it’s hard to imagine the show without her. Before locking down the role of Olivia Benson, though, Hargitay got some blunt advice, and I’m so glad she didn’t take it.

The newly-minted Broadway star has been open about what her life was like when she was first getting into acting and how a psychic even predicted her SVU fame before she got the role. The psychic is not the only one whom Hargitay saw, though. While speaking with Jamie Lee Curtis for Variety’s Actors on Actors segment, Hargitay recalled how her acting teacher at the time told her she needed to be on stage, and she became good friends with Oscar and Emmy-winning director Fisher Stevens as a result.

Stevens would take her to Broadway shows whenever she was in New York and introduce her to actresses. It was then that she knew that’s what she wanted to do. There was one actress that Hargitay became friends with who warned her to avoid one thing, and those comments couldn’t have come at a more interesting time:

Well, that guidance certainly wasn't too subtle. Interestingly, at that time, Hargitay had done quite a lot of TV, as she landed recurring roles in Falcon Crest and ER as well as leading roles in Downtown, Tequila and Bonetti, and Can’t Hurry Love, among others. But the fact that Kathleen Chalfrant -- known for her work across film, TV, and stage -- gave Hargitay that advice just before she got the call for SVU is hilarious. It’s a good thing Hargitay ended up not taking the advice, because who knows what could have happened with her career or the L&O franchise.

Luckily, Hargitay has been able to finally live out her Broadway dreams, even as Law & Order: SVU continues going strong. The actress recently made her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing, taking over the narrator role from Daniel Radcliffe. Her run, which began on May 26, will go through July 5, and I'd imagine that'll end shortly before filming kicks off for SVU’s 28^th season. So, while it took some time, I'm glad Hargitay got to experience the bright lights of Broadway.

Still, I'm looking forward to seeing Mariska Hargitay back on set for Law & Order: SVU. Both that show and Law & Order will be back for new seasons later this year, but it’s hard to know just how much longer the Dick Wolf franchise will be around for. As of now, there doesn’t seem to be any end for SVU, and I'm hopeful that the same level of vigor that pushed Hargitay to sign on for the show years ago continues to stay with her as she continues to make it.

Law & Order: SVU Season 28 will premiere on Thursday, October 8 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription.

It’s hard to believe NCIS started as a JAG spinoff, because not only is it one of the longest-running shows on primetime television, but it has also spawned a whole franchise. However, JAG is not the only show we have to give credit to when it comes to the origins of NCIS. We have to thank Law & Order, too. So, yeah, Mariska Hargitay and co. deserve our gratitude.

Since NCIS debuted over 20 years ago, it’s always interesting hearing BTS facts about the show's early days and how different things were back then. It’s even more interesting to learn about how the show came to be. Case in point, longtime executive producer Mark Horowitz reflected on NCIS’ run while appearing on the podcast NCIS: Partners & Probies, telling hosts and stars Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover the original pitch for the CBS hit, which took inspiration from a big NBC legal drama:

I love knowing that Law & Order basically had a hand in NCIS, even if it didn’t go in that direction after the backdoor pilots. By the time the JAG backdoor pilots aired, Law & Order was in its 13^th season, while SVU was in its fourth, so both shows, as well as Hargitay, Sam Waterston, and the rest of the cast on the two series, probably had a hand in inspiring the soon-to-be CBS hit.

This revelation is even more mind-blowing, knowing that the NCIS and Law & Order franchises are arguably the two most notable television franchises today. Both have had multiple spinoff series, and each franchise has projects that have been on the air for well over two decades.

However, I do have to admit, it does make me sad that they are on separate networks, so we’ll never get to see the franchises crossover.

Anyway, knowing that Law & Order inspired the original concept for NCIS, I do wonder what would have happened had L&O never premiered, or hadn’t become a show until much later. Truly, the butterfly effect is a crazy thing, and I’m certainly glad it worked its magic here. I'm also happy that NCIS ultimately went in the direction it’s currently in, because who knows how long it would have lasted had Law & Order in the Navy stuck around.

The original concept is not all that Horowitz revealed about NCIS’ early days. He also shared on the podcast why the squad walls are so orange, noting that they modeled the set after seeing the interior of a building in LA, and the lighting was just too perfect.

So, even after over 20 years, there’s a lot to learn about NCIS, and fans can go back and watch their favorite episodes, as well as the JAG backdoor pilot during Season 8 of the series, with a Paramount+ subscription. And while you do that, don't forget to say thank you to Law & Order as well.

Law & Order: SVU is wrapping up its 27^th season on the 2026 TV schedule, but the end is not yet here. NBC has renewed the series for Season 28. However, Law & Order is still awaiting news, and Law & Order: Organized Crime just got canceled after five seasons. So, now, the big question is: Are we reaching the end of Dick Wolf’s mega Law & Order franchise? Mariska Hargitay had some thoughts.

It’s hard to believe that SVU is still going on, and has been going on consistently since 1999. The show is a staple not only on NBC but on network television as a whole, and it’s hard to imagine a world without it. Despite its long reign, Hargitay, who has been playing Captain Olivia Benson since the start and is the longest-running franchise actor, still loves being on the show. That being said, there has to be an end at some point, so how long does she see SVU going? When asked by Deadline if the show could make it to 35 seasons, she just had one goal in mind:

SVU is already closing in on 600 episodes, a feat it will accomplish next season, so hitting 30 seasons seems like the next ultimate goal. At this point, it doesn’t seem too hard to achieve, but it's also not guaranteed. However, if any show has a chance to go the distance, it’s definitely SVU, which is practically considered to be the Law & Order show now instead of Law & Order itself.

The Mothership already got canceled once, and while it’s made a successful comeback, the fact that it hasn’t secured a spot for next season is troubling, especially since NBC has a handful of drama pilots to consider as well. However, the franchise managed to hold its own with SVU, so it wouldn’t be surprising if that were to happen again. It can be assumed that if there is ever one Law & Order show left again, it would be SVU. So theoretically, if it’s the last one standing by the time it reaches Season 30, that could very well be it.

Technically, there is still another Law & Order show at play, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent. It’s based on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and is separate from the franchise. The series premiered on Canada’s Citytv in 2024 but only made its way to the States last fall on The CW. L&O Toronto is wrapping up its third season in May, with Season 2 airing on The CW sometime this fall. But, counting the actual NBC franchise, only SVU and possibly Law & Order are left.

At the very least, fans can breathe knowing there’s at least one more year left of SVU, and it shouldn’t be long until NBC makes a decision on the Mothership. Dick Wolf's TV franchise began with the Law & Order Universe, which has been around since the early ‘90s, and unfortunately, it’s bound to end someday. However, hopefully, they can do what Mariska Hargitay said and make it a few more years, if not longer.

Law & Order: Organized Crime fans were dealt a serious blow this week when Peacock announced it will not heed fans’ desperate cries for a Season 6 renewal. The Season 5 finale of the Christopher Meloni-led series dropped last summer, and as this appears to be the end of Elliot Stabler’s story after “nearly 17 odd years,” Meloni shared some emotional thoughts on the latest big TV cancellation.

Christopher Meloni reflected on his time playing Elliot Stabler, which started on Law & Order: SVU in 1999, and he was on the show until 2011. In 2020, it was announced he would reprise the character for Law & Order: Organized Crime, which streamed with a Peacock subscription. He took to Instagram with a message of thanks to the fans, which you can see below:

That’s really tough to watch and drives home how important this role was for Christopher Meloni. Several times in the video, he had to pause before speaking, and despite keeping a positive tone, his eyes appeared to well up with tears as he said:

Upon news of the cancellation, many fans immediately called for Christopher Meloni to return to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which received its Season 28 renewal just as the bad news was coming for Organized Crime. Meloni has returned to SVU several times in recent seasons, which is always a delight for fans who want to see a romance between Stabler and Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson.

Law & Order: SVU has teased a Bensler relationship for years, and it’s not hard to see why, given the intense chemistry between the two actors and the years of history their characters share. Things went so far in an episode last year that the two almost kissed.

Only time will tell if this is the end of Elliot Stabler or if there are plans to continue his story on a different series in the Law & Order universe. We only know for sure that it won’t be on Law & Order: Organized Crime.

The spinoff premiered in 2021, airing 75 episodes with Christopher Meloni’s co-stars, including Ainsley Seiger, Danielle Moné Truitt and Rick Gonzalez. There may not be any new episodes coming, but fans can still enjoy Law & Order: Organized Crime’s five seasons, as well as the other franchise offerings, on Peacock.

You might think that Mariska Hargitay has already been pretty much everywhere in New York City after nearly three decades as the star of Law & Order: SVU, but the actress is now heading somewhere new: the Broadway stage. Yes, once Season 27 of SVU wraps in the 2026 TV schedule, Hargitay will be found performing on stage rather than screen. While that’s certainly exciting news, fans who aren’t anywhere near NYC may be more concerned about what it means for the prospects of a Season 28 renewal.

Fortunately, I’d wager that there’s much more to celebrate than to worry about at this point, and plenty of SVU costars and celebrities are all-in.

Mariska Hargitay’s Broadway Debut

Just days before SVU returns from its latest mini hiatus, news broke that Mariska Hargitay is stepping into the lead (and only) role of Every Brilliant Thing. She’ll take over the part from Daniel Radcliffe, who has become an NBC star in his own right thanks to Tracy Morgan’s The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. Every Brilliant Thing is a solo play with one lead interacting with the audience throughout the performance. Via EW, Hargitay had this to say about her Broadway debut:

A brief video of Mariska Hargitay celebrating her new gig showed her not only looking a lot happier than Captain Olivia Benson generally has reason to be on SVU, but sporting a haircut. Check it out:

Unsurprisingly, the comment sections of the various Instagram posts about her being cast in Every Brilliant Thing are full of congratulations for Hargitay from fans, SVU stars, and even stray celebrities as a reminder that, at some point or other, pretty much everybody has probably seen at least a glimpse her in the Law & Order world over her 500+ episodes. Take a look at just some of them:

• Kelli Giddish: "WOOHOO!!!!!"
• Kevin Kane: "👏👏👏👏"
• Danny Pino: "⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"
• Good Hang with Amy Poehler: "🥳"
• Wolf Entertainment: "Our multitalented Captain Benson 💙"
• Lindsey Vonn: "🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥going to be amazing!!!"
• Jessica Capshaw: "OPENING NIGHT, baby!!"
• Lindsay Lohan: "😍😍😍"

So, with Mariska Hargitay moving from screen to stage after the end of SVU Season 27 and apparently cutting off some of her Olivia Benson hair, what does the future hold for the long-running NBC drama? I for one am not worried.

What About Season 28?

While it’s certainly true that NBC has not yet renewed Law & Order: SVU for Season 28, there’s also no reason to believe that Mariska Hargitay’s Broadway gig will impact the fate of the show. Her run as the lead of Every Brilliant Thing will last for just 40 shows from May 26 - June 28, with the actress following up on Daniel Radcliffe’s final performance on May 24.

Filming on Season 27 of SVU would have already been well over by that May 26 Broadway debut date, and production on Season 28 wouldn’t begin until after the late June ending. Whatever the future holds for Captain Olivia Benson, it shouldn’t be impacted by Every Brilliant Thing.

Of course, I can’t blame any fans who might be getting antsy about the wait for renewal news. After all, every other corner of the Dick Wolf TV universe has been renewed for the 2026-2027 TV season, with FBI already guaranteed Season 9 by CBS in 2024, CIA renewed shortly into Season 1 on CBS, and the three shows of One Chicago renewed by NBC in one fell swoop. Both Law & Order and SVU are waiting on word from NBC, while Law & Order: Organized Crime’s future on Peacock has been uncertain for nearly a year now.

That said, SVU wasn’t renewed for Season 27 until May last year, so the news might not come for another month or so if NBC follows a similar timeline this year. Plus, in a recent Instagram video about his return to the SVU set, Ice-T said that “going into Season 28, Fin will still be alive and breathing,” then clarified in the comment section:

So, if you were concerned that Mariska Hargitay coming to Broadway in any way boded poorly for the future of Law & Order: SVU, I’d stop worrying. Ice-T says it's "looking good"! In fact, the only show that seems likely to be in danger on NBC’s Law & Order Thursdays is probably The Hunting Party, which took over Law & Order: Organized Crime’s former time slot at 10 p.m. ET on Thursdays in the new year.

For now, the wait continues for renewal news, but you can at least count on the return of SVU for its first new episode in a few weeks on Thursday, April 2 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. You can also stream past episodes with a Peacock subscription and/or a Hulu subscription.

Law & Order: SVU has become an institution on NBC after nearly three decades on the air, but Season 27 is going on another break just weeks after returning from the long Olympics-related hiatus earlier in the 2026 TV schedule. Fortunately, this break is going to be much shorter, and with the promise of Fin returning in some of the remaining episodes of the season, I love Aimé Donna Kelly's comments to CinemaBlend about getting "words of wisdom" from the one and only Ice-T.

When Law & Order: SVU Will Return

First things first! While NBC hasn't officially announced why SVU is going weeks without new episodes, it seems likely that the short break is due to March Madness taking over primetime over on CBS. Just like how the other broadcast networks usually go for reruns while NBC airs the Olympics every two years, CBS having the rights to NCAA basketball is probably the reason for NBC going for repeats in late March.

And Law & Order: SVU will return after March Madness ends, with the next new episode on Thursday, April 2 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, following Law & Order Season 25 as usual. With the most recent original episode airing on March 12, that means two Thursdays without any new investigations from Benson, Curry (after being forcibly moved to a new NYPD position), and the rest of the squad. But what about Fin, the fan-favorite who has been absent from so much of Season 27?

When Fin Will Be Back

Despite his status as second-billed SVU star behind Mariska Hargitay and one of the franchise stars with the most episodes to his name over 26 seasons, Fin has been missing for much of Season 27. Ice-T eventually explained that the reasons for his absences were budget-related after SVU brought back Kelli Giddish, which was a bummer to learn but at least came with the reassurance that he wasn't being cut from the show.

In his latest update on his Law & Order: SVU status, Ice-T revealed that he was back on set for the final three episodes of Season 27, a.k.a. Episodes 19, 20, and 21. That does make it sound like we won't be seeing Fin again until Episode 19, which presumably won't air until late April or early May, but I'm on board for three episodes of Ice-T in a row. Plus, his update seemed optimistic about Season 8, which is more good news.

Aimé Donna Kelly Appreciates Ice-T's Word Of Wisdom

The last episode before SVU's two weeks off delivered some major twists for Captain Curry, who spoke with CinemaBlend about working with the "best in the business" before her character received an offer she quite literally couldn't refuse from Chief Tynan. Actress Aimé Donna Kelly opened up about the latest developments since she became a series regular for Curry to join Benson and Fin:

Considering that Mariska Hargitay is on her 27th season and Ice-T is on his 26th season, pretty much everybody whose tenure is less than a decade can feel like a newbie on SVU! I noted to Kelly that I love whenever Fin has words of wisdom for Curry, and she responded:

I can certainly imagine a book with words of wisdom from Ice-T becoming a best-seller! Apparently, the man behind the SVU fan-favorite character has plenty of "legendary" words on set, which does seem fitting considering Fin is known for dropping some great one-liners on a show that usually isn't very funny.

Ice-T does have plenty going on in his career even without as many episodes of SVU as usual, so a coffee table book of witticisms might not be on his docket at the moment. Still, I'm glad that we at least can officially look forward to having him back on the show for three episodes in a row, including the Season 27 finale.

That said, if you want to revisit some of the Fin highlights over the past 20+ years, you can find Law & Order: SVU streaming with a Peacock subscription and a Hulu subscription. You can also look forward to the drama's return on April 2.

Warning: spoilers are ahead for Episode 15 of Law & Order: SVU Season 27, called “Thirsty” and available streaming with a Peacock subscription.

The latest episode of Law & Order: SVU in the 2026 TV schedule got off to an unconventional start without any offenses that are considered especially heinous, instead beginning with Curry representing the NYPD in the Battle of the Badges boxing match against the FDNY. Her victory in the ring didn’t extend to the rest of the episode, however, with Chief Tynan approaching her with a career opportunity that came with a whole lot of strings attached. Curry had to make a decision that takes her out of Benson’s unit, and Aimé Donna Kelly opened up about what comes next and why her character made that call.

Despite Curry’s attempts to politely but firmly turn down Tynan’s offer for a promotion, it became clear by the end of “Thirsty” that she was going to be elevated to the role of executive officer in the 16th Precinct whether she liked it or not. So, does that mean the end of Aimé Donna Kelly on SVU, now that she won’t be alongside Rollins, Fin, Bruno, and Griffin in Benson’s unit? The actress, who became a series regular in Season 27, shared:

Curry might not have her boots on the ground moving forward like she did alongside the other members of Benson’s team, but “Thirsty” wasn’t SVU writing Kelly out of the show. She'll still be around, and it might have just been a matter of time before a change had to happen in her career anyway, with the elephant in the room that Curry technically holds the same rank as Benson. The actress went on to share why it really does track as a twist for her character:

Perhaps we’ll see Curry back in more of a leadership position as executive officer, after she took a step back from that role when she decided to leave Internal Affairs. She’ll just presumably work on fewer of those sexually-based offenses that are considered especially heinous from the SVU opening narration.

While Curry saw a silver lining in Tynan forcing her hand about taking a promotion, Benson immediately wanted to try and intervene so Curry could stay with Special Victims. Curry, however, pointed out that there’s no reason why Benson could even make that happen by going against the Chief of Detectives, and she wants to handle the precarious situation on her own.

Aimé Donna Kelly explained why it was so important to her character that she handle the situation herself vs. Benson trying to do it in her place:

As Curry, Kelly not wanting to add “any more drama” to the tense situation with Benson and Tynan might be best for everybody involved. This could also be an interesting new chapter in Curry’s story, as she steps up to help Benson in a way that she couldn’t as just a member of the unit. Kelly elaborated:

It does seem like something is going to have to give sooner rather than later after Benson finally got some inside information about the history between Tynan and Griffin’s dad. Rumor has it that back in 2001, not too long after the Law & Order: SVU pilot introduced Benson and Stabler into primetime, Griffin’s dad was cleared by IAB for an off-duty shooting after his partner fixed things for him...allegedly. That partner? The future Chief Tynan.

A rumor from Benson’s counterpart in Homicide doesn’t mean she knows the whole and accurate truth about Tynan, Griffin, and Griffin’s dad, but the plot has definitely thickened with Curry positioned differently as well.

See what’s next for the whole crew with new episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, following Law & Order at 8 p.m. ET. It remains to be seen if Curry will still have a weekly presence on the show in her new role as executive officer, but fans can at least count on Ice-T’s return as Fin.

Law & Order: SVU is about to shine the spotlight on Captain Renee Curry in the next case involving offenses that are – to quote the opening narration – "especially heinous," but she'll have more on her plate than just the investigation. Aimé Donna Kelly, who was promoted to series regular status as Curry for the current Season 27, opened up to CinemaBlend about why her character wants to stay in Benson's unit and where her loyalty lies with Tynan in the mix.

The new episode on March 12 is called "Thirsty," and will bring Special Victims into their case of the week after an alleged assault by a victim at a celebrity fan convention, followed by a murder. Murderbot alum Noma Dumezweni will also be back as Detective Chief Tynan with a career opportunity for Curry, which would be great news for her... except that Tynan has become Captain Benson's nemesis throughout Season 27. (You can revisit earlier episodes of the season with a Peacock subscription.)

Of course, the mostly unaddressed elephant in the room since Curry joined Special Victims is that she technically holds the same rank as Mariska Hargitay's Benson. Ahead of the next new episode, Aimé Donna Kelly addressed why Curry has been happy (so far) working under Benson:

Curry originally decided to leave IAB for SVU when she realized she wanted to make a difference in a way that wasn't possible as the captain of Internal Affairs. Benson certainly would qualify as the "best in the business" after nearly thirty years in the same unit, along with Fin, who is just barely behind Benson when it comes to how many episodes he's been in despite Ice-T appearing in fewer episodes this season. Kelly went on:

Griffin has been the new kid on the block in Special Victims this season, with Curry settled in alongside Benson, Fin, Rollins, and Bruno, with Carisi as the longtime ADA. Unfortunately, Tynan is about to put a big choice in front of the captain that she hasn't been looking for.

It remains to be seen if Tynan is trying to promote Curry to the job she was pushing Benson to take earlier this season. The former IAB captain doesn't have the same amount of experience in sex crimes than Benson does, but she does hold the same NYPD rank. Still, Curry has been nothing but solid as part of Special Victims, so how attached is she to the unit and how loyal is she to Benson? Aimé Donna Kelly answered that very question, saying:

If one thing has been true about Law & Order: SVU going back to the pilot in 1999, it's that the nature of the crimes that the unit investigates creates a strong bond between the investigators. Tynan's offer is coming shortly after viewers saw Curry, Benson, and Rollins playing a fun game of UNO (including a shout out to John Munch); did we see the officers having fun together only for Tynan to throw a wrench into the mix a couple weeks later? Kelly continued:

Wanting to stay and being able to stay could be two different things when it comes to a wild card like Tynan. In seasons past, there may not have been need to worry that SVU might shake up the status quo in the middle of a season. SVU has been more serialized in the 2025-2026 TV season thanks to the storyline of Tynan targeting Benson and her unit, though, and Aimé Donna Kelly shared why having that ongoing storyline has been "great." She said:

Aimé Donna Kelly loves the storyline, but what about Curry after whatever offer Tynan has for her in the next new episode? Only time will tell what choice the character will have to make, and the promo doesn't drop any huge spoilers. Take a look:

Tune in to NBC on Thursday, March 12 at 9 p.m. ET for the "Thirsty" episode of Law & Order: SVU, with a decision that Curry will have to make one way or the other. You can also revisit earlier episodes of the series streaming with a Hulu subscription and/or Peacock subscription.

Law & Order: SVU has been airing its 27^th season on the 2026 TV schedule, and it’s been as intense as ever. While the series saw two exits ahead of the current season, it also brought back Kelli Giddish as Sergeant Amanda Rollins. Her return came at a price, though, as Ice-T has had to take a step back due to budget reasons. So fans haven’t seen as much of Fin as they’d like, but the rapper confirmed his SVU return with a loving message to fans and set photo receipts.

Throughout the season, SVU has explained Fin’s absence as a result of an injury he sustained in the Season 27 premiere, which Ice-T even hinted at when filming kicked off over the season. I, myself, have been worried Fin would be written off, as have many other fans, because of the absences, even despite Ice-T previously making it clear he has no plans to leave the show. Luckily, he shared a video message to X on Tuesday to confirm that he is indeed filming the final episodes of the season:

Ice-T has been an essential part of SVU since Season 2, and at this point, it’s hard to imagine the show without him, so having that confirmation from the man himself that Fin is not going anywhere any time soon is a relief. It also sounds like Ice-T has been pretty busy when he isn’t filming SVU, so who knows what else he has up his sleeves. SVU still remains a priority for him, though, and if the show nabs a Season 28 renewal, fans should expect to see much more of Fin:

As of now, the Law & Order spinoff has not secured a spot for next season, but it’s still early. The series remains a staple on NBC, so it would be highly surprising if SVU did not get renewed. Regardless, though, Ice-T seems sure that Fin won’t be leaving permanently. For now, fans can look forward to seeing him much more in these final episodes of Season 27, and Ice-T shared a photo on Wednesday morning on X straight from the set:

A lot of shows these days have had to either cut their episode orders or episodic guarantees for the cast due to budget constraints, so it’s not unusual that Ice-T hasn’t been in every single episode, especially following Giddish’s addition. But at least he’ll be back for the final episodes, which is better than nothing.

It’s unknown what these final episodes of SVU Season 27 will bring, but the series is known for going pretty big and sometimes pretty dark towards the end of seasons, so you never know. Viewers will just have to tune in on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription.

Spoilers ahead for the winter premiere of Law & Order: SVU Season 27 in the 2026 TV schedule, called "Corrosive" and available streaming with a Peacock subscription and/or Hulu subscription.

Law & Order: SVU Season 27 returned after the Winter Olympics break with an episode that was originally pulled from airing on NBC. A former FBI actor was cast as a replacement guest star, and it only took a few minutes of watching it for me to be very glad that the episode didn't have to shelved for good. "Corrosive" opened with a sweet callback to John Munch, played by the late Richard Belzer for nearly 250 episodes across the Law & Order franchise.

I loved to see it as a longtime SVU fan, but it did leave me wishing that Ice-T was present as Fin for the story.

A Shout Out To John Munch

The moment came before everything went sideways in the episode, so the mood was light without any – to quote the opening narration – "sexually based offenses" that are "considered especially heinous" – to dampen the mood. The three women of SVU Season 27 were passing an uneventful evening with a game of UNO: Show Em No Mercy in Benson's office.

Curry got into the true spirit of the game by dropping a Draw 4 Wild on Rollins, who already had a hand full of cards. Benson was on Curry's side by pointing out that it's "a brutal world out there," which is almost inevitably true when it comes to the game of UNO. She was less on Curry's side when her fellow captain dropped an ill-advised comment: "An absolutely silent night in here."

Rollins immediately protested that Curry had just "jinxed" them, but Curry responded by saying that she's "not superstitious." So, Benson shared some SVU lore involving the one and only John Munch. With a hand to her heart and teary eyes, she said:

Curry and Rollins seemed to appreciate the story, and I have to imagine that some of the emotion in Benson's delivery was due to Mariska Hargitay missing her longtime friend... until Curry went and optimistically suggested that "maybe tonight's the night," prompting Rollins to declare that she "just double-jinxed it."

An officer did walk in almost immediately to draw their attention to a video that had been sent into the tip line, setting off an investigation that would get pretty ugly. It was a brief mention in the grand scheme of the episode, and less of a tribute than when Benson, Fin, and Carisi raised a glass to Munch in the Season 25 premiere, but really a lovely surprise to start out the episode. There's just one way it would have been lovelier.

Why I Wish Ice-T Had Been There

For me, the classic era of Law & Order: SVU started in Season 2 with the arrival of Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutola to join Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler, Dann Florek as Captain Cragen, and of course Richard Belzner as Detective John Munch. Fin and Munch were partners for most of the era before Meloni left in Season 12.

While they never quite became as renowned in pop culture as Benson and Stabler (who have had fans rooting for them for nearly three decades now), they were a pretty dynamic duo, and some of their best one-liners were directed at each other. Fin was even the one to provide an update on Munch back in Season 24, telling then-newcomer Bruno:

Just like if Fin had mentioned a cute story about Stabler in a scene without Benson, I would have enjoyed it for what it was while still being a little bit bummed that his longtime partner wasn't there to contribute. It would have been nice to have Fin there for the story, since he had already been with the unit for several years in '04.

Plus, I would have liked to see how bloodthirsty his UNO strategy is. The man loves his video games, but what about card games? Admittedly, I've missed having Ice-T throughout Season 27 even without Munch being mentioned after his episode count was reduced due to budget.

Well, at least SVU is available streaming on Peacock and Hulu so that fans can revisit any and all episodes of Fin and Munch that they so desire! Tune in to NBC on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET for the latest from the long-running show as the wait begins for renewal news.

The Winter Olympics have come to an end on NBC, which means the return of Law & Order: SVU on Thursday nights in the 2026 TV schedule after a month off. The first episode back will involve an attempt on the life of a respected judge, and an exclusive clip reveals that Detective Griffin and Captain Curry will find themselves in a strange situation within a college dorm. Whether or not this is taking place at the dreaded Hudson University, Griffin seems to have a short fuse... and a suspicion that Benson isn't his biggest fan. Take a look, above!

The new episode on February 26 is called "Corrosive," and involves an anonymous video posted to the Special Victims tip line tying to the attempt on a judge's life. It appears that Curry will be partnered with the unit's newest detective for at least part of the case, with Rollins tasked with helping a victim in the wake of their abuse. While fans will have to tune in for the full context of why Matt (Dan Thompson) seems so scared of speaking to the cops in front of Elsa (Hannah Masi) about one of their roommates, Griffin apparently doesn't even need for Benson to be in the room to declare that she can't stand him.

Mariska Hargitay's character has certainly had some detectives she's liked more than others, and Griffin has been a relatively small thorn in her side compared to others she's encountered at the NYPD over the years. That said, he has a point about him not exactly being her favorite person, and not just because of how happy she was to welcome Rollins back full-time. Going rogue to arrest a college kid for obstruction might not do much to help his standing with her.

Griffin came into the unit with ties to Detective Chief Tynan that weren't entirely clear, which has generated some tension between Benson her newest detective. Still, I don't know that he's right that his boss "can't stand" him. Just because Tynan has become Benson's pseudo-nemesis doesn't mean Griffin has to to do the same. The timing doesn't exactly work in his favor that he's in the mix more than Fin recently, with Ice-T having a reduced role in Season 27 after his character was injured back in the fall. (You can stream Season 27 so far now with a Peacock subscription.)

Interestingly, this episode was initially planned to air earlier in the season, but was shelved due to allegations against guest star Timothy Busfield. The role was recast, with FBI alum David Zayas now set to portray the judge. Tune in to NBC on Thursday, February 26 at 9 p.m. ET for the first post-Olympics episode of Law & Order: SVU, or stream next day on Peacock. As always, SVU follows sister series Law & Order on Thursday nights, while the wait continues for news of the future of Law & Order: Organized Crime.

NBC's lineup for Law & Order: SVU in the 2026 TV schedule changed after just one episode back from the winter hiatus when news broke of allegations against guest star Timothy Busfield, resulting in his episode being pulled just days before it was scheduled to air. At the time, it was unknown if Busfield's character was so central to the episode that there was no salvaging it or if NBC would find a way to air it without him. Now, we have an answer: FBI and Dexter vet David Zayas will take over the role for the episode.

After Zayas appeared in an arc of FBI's third and fourth seasons, this guest gig on SVU will mark his return to the expansive Dick Wolf TV universe, although he won't be reprising the role that was such a menace to Jubal (Jeremy Sisto) and Isobel (Alana De La Garza) on the CBS series. Deadline reports that Zayas was recast as the guest star for the next episode, called "Corrosive," and he'll play the judge originally portrayed by Busfield prior to an arrest warrant being issued for him for alleged child abuse.

Per the outlet, "Corrosive" will tackle abuse over the course of a case that involves a respected judge being threatened, presumably the character now being played by Zayas. That does make it sound like ADA Carisi (Peter Scanavino) and Co. will have more involvement with the judge than just the usual gavel-banging and and in-chambers meetings that are usually to be expected within the Law & Order world.

While David Zayas only appeared in three episodes of FBI as Antonio Vargas, the drug lord had a powerful impact on the series, with his actions leading to the death of an FBI Assistant Direct and a permanent change to the cast. While we can't say for certain until his upcoming episode of SVU airs on NBC and streams with a Peacock subscription, I think it's a safe bet that the judge he's playing on Mariska Hargitay's show will be a far cry from the drug lord menacing Jubal on FBI.

Per tradition with Law & Order: SVU castings, it's worth looking back at an actor's credits to see if they've appeared in the Dick Wolf world and/or how often they've been back. For David Zayas, the judge he plays in "Corrosive" will be his second character on SVU. Meanwhile, he's appeared as two different characters on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, five characters on Law & Order, one character on Chicago P.D. Then, of course, are his three episodes of FBI. all of which are available streaming now with a Paramount+ subscription.

Unfortunately, fans are in for a bit of a wait before seeing David Zayas playing the character originally intended for Timothy Busfield. Law & Order: SVU is currently on another mini hiatus. There is good news, though; "Corrosive" will be the first SVU episode back on NBC after the Olympics coverage is done for the year. I'm curious to find out if we'll ever learn how much needed to be reshot for the episode, but only time will tell.

Law & Order: SVU is in the midst of its 27^th season on the 2026 TV schedule, and it’s been as entertaining as ever this time around. After saying goodbye to two detectives at the start of the season, fans also said hello to Kelli Giddish as she returned full-time as Sergeant Amanda Rollins. Giddish is one of the longest-running actors in the Law & Order franchise and continues to be a fan-favorite. While she seems to have the time of her life on the show, there are some regrets she has related to co-stars Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T.

Giddish first joined SVU in Season 13, but she immediately fit right in, and it was hard watching the show without her following her exit. Even Hargitay admitted to being upset over Giddish’s departure. Now that she’s back as a series regular, the actress has been able to make even more memories with her longtime co-stars, but with over ten seasons under her belt, Giddish told People that there’s one particular regret she has about working and being friends with Hargitay and Ice-T:

Considering there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for SVU, it’s never too late for Giddish to ask for business advice, or any advice from Hargitay. She’s been in the business for a long time, and grew up in the business as well. She’s breaking records with her portrayal of Captain Olivia Benson, and she serves as an EP on SVU. Not to mention the fact that Hargitay frequently advocates for domestic and sexual abuse victims!

As for Ice-T, I get why Giddish is kicking herself for not writing down things the rapper has said. He delivers some much-needed laughs on such a dark show with Fin’s out-of-pocket one-liners, so I can only imagine what it's like when cameras aren’t rolling. While his role has been cut back, it's still not too late for Giddish to start writing down things he’s said, but it is unfortunate that she missed out on years of hilarious quotes.

At the very least, Law & Order: SVU probably won’t be ending any time soon as long as Mariska Hargitay wants to keep going, and now that Giddish is back on the show, there are plenty of new memories to be made. Unfortunately, there is nothing to be done about the past, so Giddish will just have to look toward the future, and maybe even start doing what she wanted to do, no matter how late in the game it is.

Meanwhile, Season 27 of SVU is streaming now with a Peacock subscription. Due to the Winter Olympics, the series is going on a brief hiatus, but rest assured, SVU will return on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

Spoilers are ahead for Episode 13 of Law & Order: SVU in the 2026 TV schedule, called "Hubris" and available streaming with a Peacock subscription.

Law & Order: SVU has already entered another break this winter, but the final episode before weeks off featured a face that would be familiar to longtime fans of the franchise. Kate Burton played a criminal doctor by the name of Bethany Allen in "Hubris," which not only wasn't her first time opposite Mariska Hargitay, but was her fifth character in the Law & Order franchise. While seems like a wild number, Burton doesn't even hold a record for the most.

Kate Burton is also well known over on Grey's Anatomy for playing a character who has come back despite being killed off, but eagle-eyed Law & Order franchise fans will know her for another reason. Or five other reasons, depending on how dedicated of a fan you are! Take a look at her full list of characters, which includes a role she reprised over four episodes of four seasons of Law & Order:

• Law & Order: SVU Season 27, Episode 12: Dr. Bethany Allen (2026)
• Law & Order: SVU Season 12, Episode 18: Annette Cole (2011)
• Law & Order Seasons 12, 14, 15, 20: Defense Attorney Erica Gardner (2001 - 2009)
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent Season 1, Episode 8: Stephanie Uffland (2001)
• Law & Order Season 2, Episode 17: Sister Bettina (1992)

"Hubris" wasn't so much a "Welcome to SVU!" for Kate Burton, but a "Welcome back!" Both Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T were series regulars for her first appearance in 2011, while Kelli Giddish was still a season away from debuting as Rollins and Peter Scanavino wouldn't arrive as Carisi until Season 14.

That said, it's not rare for actors to appear in multiple episodes of the Law & Order world as multiple characters. After all, this is a franchise that has run for more than 1,400 episodes at the time of writing, going back more than 30 years and accumulating 70 seasons – yes, 70 – across seven different shows. Of course there have been repeats! In fact, Maria Dizzia was another guest from the "Hubris" episode of SVU, and she'd appeared as two more characters in Law & Order and then another in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Now, I can't claim to be an expert on every guest across 1,400 episodes and 70 seasons, but I do know that there are more than 30 actors who went on to become TV stars with multiple Law & Order franchise characters to their name. Here are just a few:

• Game of Thrones' Pedro Pascal: 4 characters
• Stranger Things' David Harbour: 5 characters
• The Handmaid's Tale's Ann Dowd: 9 characters

For good measure, it's even worth looking at stars who started out in the franchise as random one-off guest characters, only to come back as series regulars to play totally different characters. Check out who started as guests and ended up as regulars:

• Kelli Giddish: SVU
• Peter Scanavino: SVU
• Camryn Manheim: Law & Order
• Diane Neal: SVU
• Raúl Esparza: SVU
• Mehcad Brooks: Law & Order
• Jeremy Sisto: Law & Order
• S. Epatha Merkerson: Law & Order
• Jerry Orbach: Law & Order
• Kevin Kane: SVU
• Jeffrey Donovan: Law & Order
• Anthony Anderson: Law & Order
• Tony Goldwyn: Law & Order
• Rick Gonzalez: Organized Crime
• Michael Trotter: Organized Crime
• Dean Norris: Organized Crime

All of this is to say that it can be fun to head on over to IMDb after episodes of SVU (or Law & Order) to see if guest stars have appeared elsewhere in the franchise before. As for actors... well, let it not be said that playing one person will stop you from coming back in a much bigger role! Still, I got a particular kick out of Kate Burton in the latest episode of SVU, since I strongly associate her with Ellis Grey on Grey's Anatomy in addition to her five Law & Order characters.

Law & Order: SVU will return to NBC with new episodes starting on February 26, after the 2026 Winter Olympics wrap up. You can revisit earlier episodes streaming on Peacock or via a Hulu subscription.

Law & Order: SVU was among the earliest of the major network TV shows to return in the 2026 TV schedule, fresh off of a month of winter hiatus. The new year started with SVU delivering plenty of crimes that are considered especially heinous all throughout the month of January (with one exception being pulled from the lineup). The long-running drama is already heading into another hiatus, however, with nearly a month between Episode 12 on January 29 and Episode 13 in late February. Here’s what we know.

Law & Order: SVU’s Last Episode Before The Break

The last new episode for the next four weeks is called “Hubris” and airs in SVU’s usual time slot on Thursday, January 29, streaming next day with a Peacock subscription. It’ll be the first to hit the airwaves on NBC after Carisi and Rollins were attacked in their home, but Carisi will evidently be moving forward without any trauma this time. Check out the logline for what to expect:

Chicago Med’s Norma Kuhling’s character, who is doing much better than Ava Bekker was in her last episodes of One Chicago’s medical drama, will be back this week as CJ to team up with Carisi. That said, she doesn’t appear in the promo that NBC aired at the end of the previous week’s episode, which instead focuses on Benson and the case she and her unit are facing this week. Take a look:

Personally, I’m curious to see if Chief Tynan will make an appearance to complicate Benson’s job once again before the break. The NBC execs presumably knew that SVU would go on another hiatus early in the 2026 TV schedule, which would have allowed for a mini cliffhanger in the last episode before the break… except for that pulled episode, which starred Timothy Busfield and was filmed before news of his allegations broke.

Why Fans Won’t See SVU Again Until Late February

While diehard fans may be bummed at the prospect of the drama going on a break not too long after the last hiatus ended, there’s a good reason for it, and SVU isn’t isolated as NBC’s only drama that will be missing from primetime for the next month. The network’s coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics begins on Thursday, February 5, making the new One Chicago episodes that Wednesday the last of NBC’s scripted dramas before sports takes over the airwaves. SVU returns on February 26.

This isn’t unusual; the Winter Olympics generally bump NBC’s usual programming back until late February or early March. In fact, other networks often go on breaks during the Olympic season as well, with even CBS’ biggest shows like FBI, NCIS, and Ghosts not returning in 2026 until after the Games end. It’s less of an issue for the Summer Olympics every four years, since airing in July doesn’t overlap with seasons of NBC’s major scripted shows.

So, it’s not a bad sign for the future of SVU (or Law & Order) that they’ll be missing for the next several Thursdays after January 29. Personally, I’m much more worried about the future of Law & Order: Organized Crime. We’re coming up on a year since OC premiered its fifth season on Peacock, and more than two months since Chrisopher Meloni’s show wrapped the NBC broadcast of Season 5 back in November. Fans are getting desperate for news about Season 6.

For the foreseeable future, you’ll have to plan on heading to Peacock to revisit earlier episodes of SVU, OC, and Law & Order all on the same platform, while SVU and Law & Order can also be viewed with a Hulu subscription. As for the Winter Olympics, the Opening Ceremony will be broadcast on NBC on Friday, February 6.

Kelli Giddish returned to Law & Order: SVU as a series regular in Season 27, and her biggest case of the season as Amanda Rollins aired early in the 2026 TV schedule. It was an action-packed hour that opened with an attack on Carisi, and deeply unsettled the Special Victims sergeant by bringing back a murderer she’d encountered before.

Giddish opened up about an upcoming episode that gave her chills, and that says a lot coming from an actress who has been filming episodes of the NBC series for well over a decade. It reminded me that there's one episode in recent years that I can't imagine rewatching any time soon.

SVU's Chill-Inducing Upcoming Episode

With the big Rollisi episode available streaming with a Peacock subscription now, Kelli Giddish spoke with TV Insider about what’s to come as Season 27 continues. While she didn’t name which episode she’s alluding to or when it will air, the actress hinted at a case that’s going to be quite troubling even by SVU standards. She said:

Considering that Kelli Giddish started on SVU as a series regular (after a brief guest role years earlier) in Season 13, she has been around for some of the darkest arcs of the entire series. She was present for the William Lewis episodes, the Henry Mesner multi-parter that was just revisited, and many cases that were ripped from the headlines. By this point, it seems like an episode would have to be quite heavy to be chill-inducting.

While she didn’t spoil details about this particular episode with its “creepiest” scene, Giddish did only have good things to say about getting scripts for SVU:

That’s high praise for an actress who is on her fifteenth season and isn’t too far off from her 300th episode in the Law & Order franchise. The first female showrunner in the history of SVU took the reins for Season 27 after penning some iconic episodes for Benson and Stabler early on, so this has been a new era for a long-running show.

I’ve personally seen many episodes of this long-running show, some of them more than once. At the time of writing, however, there is one that sticks out to me that I have no urge to put myself through watching again, and that’s largely due to Peter Scanavino.

The Most Recent Episode I Can't Rewatch

The episode I’m referring to was the fall finale of Season 26, called “Cornered” and originally airing in late November of 2024. It featured Carisi getting roped into a hostage situation by sheer happenstance and bad timing, with the bad guys a pair of criminals just looking to rob the store. Peter Scanavino’s performance was intense enough that I recall forgetting momentarily that I was watching Law & Order: SVU and – to quote the opening narration – ”sexually-based offenses” that are “considered especially heinous” were bound to be on the way.

That said, it wasn’t only Scanavino’s performance that hit me so hard back then that it still packs a punch today. I have to give credit to guest star Paige Herschell, who played Tess, a young woman who was assaulted in a side room of the deli while Carisi was held at gunpoint just outside, listening the whole time. When Tess was released from the deli, she let out a scream of so much anguish and pain that the commercial break came as a relief.

So, it made sense that Carisi was left with PTSD after his part of the ordeal, and Peter Scanavino shared with CinemaBlend that he only watched the episode himself once. I admittedly did watch it for a second time before I spoke with the longtime SVU star, and that’s about as many times as I think I can manage it without the passage of some more time.

It leaves me wondering how the episode that Kelli Giddish described as giving her chills will compare! Only one episode is left before a mini hiatus kicks off when coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics takes over primetime. For now, be sure to tune in to NBC on Thursday, January 29 at 9 p.m. ET for the final episode of Law & Order: SVU before late February.

Law & Order: SVU got personal in the 2026 TV schedule with not only the return of a serial offender, but an attack on Rollins and Carisi in their own home. The home invasion was teased in the promo the week before, and occurred within the first five minutes of the episode. It also revealed that the ADA has no trouble channeling his inner Special Victims cop. His response made it feel like watching Detective Carisi again, and behind-the-scenes video shows Peter Scanavino back in the action.

After the promo for the episode, called “Career Psychopath,” showed Carisi at knifepoint in front of Rollins, I was concerned that SVU would be reopening old wounds for the ADA. He was left with post-traumatic stress after his hostage experience in the Season 26 fall finale, and having a knife held at his neck in front of his wife seemed like a possible trigger.

Instead, the ADA channeled his years as a cop when he was regularly in the thick of danger, fighting off the attacker enough for Rollins to get the upper hand. Considering that it felt like watching Detective Carisi again, I'd say that Scanavino may have been channeling those years of SVU as well! The episode itself is available streaming now with a Peacock subscription, but take a look at the BTS video below:

While I can’t guarantee the man rolling around with the intruder isn’t Peter Scanavino’s stunt double, there’s no denying that the actor himself was portraying Carisi with a knife to his throat. That was the part that had me wondering if he’d be going through some trauma flashbacks to Season 26 after shifting back to detective mode, so it’s also fun to see him making sillier faces at the camera between scenes.

Law & Order: SVU went through a massive shift in 2019 when Carisi switched from his role as a Special Victims detective after five years to working as an Assistant District Attorney. There were several seasons of Special Victims turnover in the years following, with the entrances (and subsequent exits) of Kat (Jamie Gray Hyder), Velasco (Octavio Pisano), Muncy (Molly Burnett), Silva (new FBI series regular Juliana Aidén Martinez), and even Rollins (Kelli Giddish), although Giddish of course returned as a regular in Season 27.

Despite all those changes within Benson’s unit, Carisi has remained an ADA aside from the occasional return to the field to lend a hand… and the occasional hostage situation. Hopefully any future hostage situations are resolved as relatively easily as in “Career Psychopath” with Rollins on hand.

All in all, it was great to get an episode with an emphasis on Rollisi as well as a showcase for Rollins. While I’ve been missing having Fin around all the time (and Ice-T himself worried that he was being written out), having Kelli Giddish back as a regular meant that Rollins was due for the spotlight. After all, the character was treated pretty unceremoniously when she was written out.

Keep tuning in to NBC on Thursday, January 29 at 9 p.m. ET for the next episode of Law & Order: SVU. Fans are facing another hiatus due to the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will keep Benson and Co. off the air until late February. During the break, you can always revisit earlier episodes streaming with a Hulu subscription or on Peacock.

Last week, Season 27 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit relaunched with its first episode since November, but it is now being reported that a major change is in the works for the rollout of the rest. NBC has made the call to pull an upcoming episode following reports of criminal charges being filed against guest star Timothy Busfield.

Busfield, best known for his roles in TV shows like The West Wing and thirtysomething as well as movies like Field Of Dreams, was set to appear as a judge in an upcoming Law & Order: SVU chapter titled “Corrosive,” but per Variety, that episode has now been pulled. The reason is because of an arrest warrant being filed in New Mexico that sees the actor/director accused of sexual abuse involving a minor – an accusation stemming from Busfield’s work on the Fox drama series The Cleaning Lady.

"Corrosive" was set to mark Busfield's third time working on the long-running legal show. He first appeared in Season 13's "Russian Brides," and he directed single episodes in Season 20 ("Facing Demons") and Season 21 ("Down Low In Hell's Kitchen"). He has been accused of touching the "private parts" of a minor during two separate incidents while working as a director on The Cleaning Lady, which spurred an internal investigation by Warner Bros. Television last year.

The pulled episode, which was set to be the tenth of the season, was initially scheduled to debut this coming Thursday, January 15, and it will now be replaced by "Fidelis Ad Mortem" (Episode 11, which was originally scheduled for January 22).

Busfield – who made his Hollywood debut in 1981 with a nameless role in the Ivan Reitman-directed comedy Stripes – most recently played an immigration officer in the season debut of The Cleaning Lady Season 4 last year, which was his first performance since an appearance on an episode of Billions in 2023. He has also completed work on a romantic comedy from directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein called You Deserve Each Other, which co-stars Natalie Morales, Kyle MacLachlan, Justin Long, and Hope Davis.

As a television director, his resume includes like FBI, Chicago Med, FBI: Most Wanted and Law & Order.

This marks just the second time that an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has been pulled from the schedule, with the first being the Season 18''s "Unstoppable" – which was directly inspired by sexual misconduct allegations against Donald Trump. The episode was originally meant to air in October 2016, but it was pulled and it has never aired.

Replacing "Corrosive," Law & Order: SVU's "Fidelis Ad Mortem" will air in the show's normal timeslot on Thursday on NBC at 9/8c.

Law & Order: SVU is staying strong going into the 2026 TV schedule and the new year proper, with the 27^th season's winter premiere crossover with Law & Order delivering as much action as ever, with characters from both shows teaming up for a case. After being absent for a good portion of the first half of the season, Ice-T's Fin finally got more screentime, but there was a time the rapper thought for sure that Fin was done.

Ice-T has been on SVU since Season 2, making him one of the longest-running actors in the Law & Order franchise. Fans were a bit concerned that he could be leaving after he didn’t appear in a chunk of Season 27 episodes during the first half, with the series playing it off with the explanation that he suffered an injury in the first episode. Additionally, he was also thinking about retiring, giving even more reason to believe this could be it.

That being said, he did eventually come back before the end of the year, and it was revealed that the show had to cut down on his appearances to bring back Kelli Giddish. Ice-T had no hard feelings over the matter, but he told TV Insider that he remained clueless about what was going on to the point where he thought Fin was being written off:

Of course, everything with Fin turned out fine. Though it was probably hard to tell what exactly was going to happen, it sounds like it was not fun while he was waiting to find out. SVU has been pretty unpredictable throughout its run, with a handful of actors leaving over the years.

If anything, Ice-T praised his friendship with co-star and lead Mariska Hargitay, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he brought some of his concerns to her:

It can be assumed that Ice-T will continue to be in fewer episodes of SVU as the season continues, but at the very least, it seems like Fin is safe for now. Unfortunately, it does sound like no matter how long he’s been on the show for, he’s still worried about getting fired. He doesn’t want to leave any time soon, but when that does eventually happen, he does know how he'd like Fin's ending to go. He will just have to hope that it doesn’t come prematurely.

Fans will have to wait and see what happens with Odafin “Fin” Tutuoloa in new episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription. You never know what could happen on a show like SVU, and it’s clear that no character is safe, no matter what.

Another year of television is ending with the final days of the 2025 TV schedule, so the time is right to look back at the highs and lows of what the networks delivered over the past twelve months. For the part of my job that involves primetime, I ultimately ended up watching 13 crime procedurals. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat for all of them, and didn’t catch every one live on a weekly basis, but I've realized on looking back that my favorites are the ones that weren’t part of a franchise.

The stage is set for the 2026 TV schedule but let's first look back at the procedural crimes of 2025.

My 2025 Crime Procedurals

Once I got over my slight existential crisis at how many scripted crime shows I watched over the past year, I realized that my choices weren’t limited to just my two most-covered networks: NBC and CBS. Check out my full list:

1. The Rookie - ABC (streaming with a Hulu subscription)
2. Will Trent - ABC (streaming on Hulu)
3. FBI - CBS (streaming with a Paramount+ subscription)
4. FBI: International - CBS (streaming on Paramount+)
5. FBI: Most Wanted - CBS (streaming on Paramount+)
6. Elsbeth - CBS (streaming on Paramount+)
7. Murder in a Small Town - Fox (streaming on Hulu)
8. Law & Order - NBC (streaming with a Peacock subscription)
9. Law & Order: SVU - NBC (streaming on Peacock)
10. Law & Order: Organized Crime - NBC (streaming on Peacock)
11. Chicago P.D. - NBC (streaming on Peacock)
12. The Hunting Party - NBC (streaming on Peacock)
13. Found - NBC (streaming on Peacock)

I’d be lying unless I admitted that I’m a devoted watcher of the Law & Order shows, and Chicago P.D. is technically the only police drama within the One Chicago world. I mourned as much as any fan at the shocking cancellations of FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International. The franchises admittedly do have a lot going for them.

The Appeal Of Franchises (And What Doesn't Always Work)

Can I cite moments from SVU going back decades, and do I enjoy regularly joking about why Hudson University is the worst place to be in the Law & Order world? Sure. Does every crime on Chicago Med and Chicago Fire leave my eyes peeled for a Chicago P.D. cameo? Of course. Was I entertained whenever a crossover could happen between FBI and its very different spinoffs? Naturally.

I love my shared-universe TV shows. I get as excited as a Bensler shipper (although I’m not one myself) when Christopher Meloni rejoins Mariska Hargitay in primetime. I’m still frustrated that FBI: International didn’t get nearly as good of an ending as FBI: Most Wanted. I’d need a pretty elaborate flow chart on my wall to keep track of how some of these shows are connected, and that’s impressive.

Despite all of this, I have to say that sometimes it’s more fun to watch TV without needing an elaborate flow chart. Sometimes I don’t want to have to wonder if something is an Easter egg, or if a familiar face is just one actor playing two different characters. (It happens more often than you’d think in the Law & Order franchise.) I don't always need everything to be connected. And that brings us to…

My Non-Franchise Crime Shows Of 2025

While I didn’t necessarily cover the non-franchise crime series as much as the Law & Orders and the FBIs, I did enjoy my breaks TV universes full of very similar shows. Admittedly, The Rookie isn’t quite as franchised as most of the other entries on my list, but it did have a short-lived spinoff starring Niecy Nash, and another spinoff is in the works with Jay Ellis in the leading role. So, these are the standalones I’m counting from the past year:

1. Will Trent
2. Elsbeth
3. Murder in a Small Town
4. The Hunting Party
5. Found

These are five very different shows, with Will Trent based on a series of novels by Karin Slaughter. Murder in a Small Town splits its focus between a leading man playing a police chief and a leading woman who plays a librarian-turned-politician. Elsbeth didn’t even start out as a comedy before making the switch this fall. Found wove a serialized story very closely with the case of the week, and the same is true for The Hunting Party.

And I could enjoy all of them without needing to consult any notes or use commercial breaks to wrack my brain for Easter eggs or do any deep dives on why actors seem so familiar. The mysteries and the chases were fun to focus on without keeping an eye out for crossover openings.

These are also relatively easy shows to jump into. For as much as I'm an SVU loyalist, diving into a show that's 27 seasons in is pretty intimidating, especially when longtime fans are always excited to talk about ties back to the golden years. There's a lot to enjoy in non-franchise options without needing to do any homework, and I'd recommend at least trying any of them. One stands out as my favorite, though.

My Favorite Crime Show Of The Year: Elsbeth

If you’re surprised that I’d rank the funniest of the crime procedurals as my favorite, you still couldn’t be more surprised than I was! In fact, Elsbeth is so different from The Good Wife and The Good Fight that even a returning star wasn’t enough for me to disqualify it from my non-franchise list. Upon looking back, the CBS drama-turned-comedy was the crime procedural I looked forward to the most per week.

Admittedly, a lot of that goes back to the celebrity guest stars, since Elsbeth has a knack for recruiting stars to play killers or, like Stephen Colbert in the Season 3 premiere, murder victims. I’ll still cite the Season 2 premiere with a murderous Nathan Lane as one of my favorite episodes of 2024, and it’s hard to believe how many stars were willing to come back for an episode with Chicago-esque musical numbers. The Conners’ Laurie Metcalf and Will and Grace’s Eric McCormack even showed off some skills that they never got to us on their famous sitcoms.

That’s not to say that there aren’t dramatic moments between celebrities killing off characters in outlandish ways, and it wasn’t hard to buy Elsbeth as a drama before it was changed to a comedy for the current awards season. Leading lady Carrie Preston has easily carried the show between both genres, and Michael Emerson (a.k.a. Preston’s real-life husband) didn’t just make a cameo for some laughs.

All of this is to say that while I love my crime shows set within franchises, Elsbeth is a breath of fresh air. I don’t have to keep my eyes peeled for possible crossover hints, I can laugh throughout an episode, and – as promised ahead of Elsbeth’s premiere – I can enjoy it without needing to know The Good Wife and The Good Fight. I’m excited to see the returns of my procedurals that haven’t been cancelled (R.I.P. FBI: International, FBI: Most Wanted, and Found) for a fictionally crime-filled new year.

The winter hiatus for NBC's Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU is nearly over with the upcoming start of the 2026 TV schedule, and the two dramas will follow their fall finales up with a crossover event. While the promo included enough to hype SVU fans over the return of Ice-T's Fin, Law & Order showrunner Rick Eid has dropped some details for what to expect from the case that requires two hours.

The two Dick Wolf TV universe shows return to NBC on Thursday, January 8 for a two-parter. Law & Order kicks off the evening as usual at 8 p.m. ET, with an episode that involves Brady when she witnesses a crime and an injured woman goes missing from the hospital.

This will result in her working with Special Victims, with TVLine reporting that an "explosive discovery" will put the squads of both series "in danger." Rick Eid spoke with the outlet first about what brings Brady and Benson together for the crossover, after some tension in their previous crossover in the 2025 TV schedule:

In the previous crossover in the spring of 2025, the two NYPD bosses got off on the wrong foot when Benson got too personally invested in the case of the week and overstepped on Brady's usual turf. Based on what Rick Eid said, the actresses enjoy sharing scenes together, and the upcoming two-parter will lean into that. It does presumably mean that the crime that Brady witnesses will tie to a sexually-based offense if it brings Special Victims into the mix.

This two-parter won't just come across as two normal episodes of Law & Order and SVU either that happen to overlap a bit, according to the former's showrunner. On the subject of how literally explosive the promo for the crossover is, he previewed the higher stakes:

All things considered, it seems like this might be the crossover with the highest stakes within the franchise since the Law & Order: SVU/Law & Order: Organized Crime event in 2023 that ended in the death of a series regular. That's not to say that fans should expect a main character to die in the upcoming event, but a lot more seems to be at stake for New York City than the last time that Mariska Hargitay's Benson and Maura Tierney's Brady teamed up.

The two women were a formidable duo by the end of that first crossover, so it should be interesting to see how they operate this time around. Check out the promo below:

The crossover will also kick off the beginning of the winter half of the 2025-2026 TV season, which will see Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 replaced by The Hunting Party Season 2 on Thursday nights after SVU. Leading lady Melissa Roxburgh shared why The Hunting Party is a great option to stream via a Peacock subscription ahead of the second season, and I'm curious to see if the numbers for Law & Order: Organized Crime will carry over for the new season of the Manifest vet's crime drama.

For now, with the days counting down until NBC's crossover event on January 8, you can always use that Peacock subscription to revisit earlier episodes of Law & Order and SVU. Both shows are also available with a Hulu subscription if Peacock isn't an option.

A lot of stars from the Law & Order franchise have been gracing our screens for many, many years. After Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T and Christopher Meloni are two of the longest-running actors in the franchise, and while they may not be in many scenes together anymore, Ice-T still loves filming with Meloni when possible, at least when it comes to a particular type of scene.

Ice-T and Meloni starred together on Law & Order: SVU for about 10 seasons, and have since occasionally worked together when Meloni began starring on Law & Order: Organized Crime. So every time Fin and Stabler are together these days, it’s entertaining, especially when the two really get at it. The rapper previously told NBC in a behind-the-scenes interview that his favorite scenes to shoot with Meloni are complete opposites of each other:

Fin and Stabler’s partnership throughout SVU was fun to watch because you never knew what to expect, especially when they butted heads on something. And even now, they don’t always see eye to eye. Considering Ice-T and Meloni are friends in real life, I can imagine how fun it is to act like they don’t like each other and fight, even though it’s usually pretty brief. But it’s what makes it all the more entertaining:

There have been less Fin and Stabler moments now that Organized Crime is now on Peacock, and the streamer has yet to announce a sixth season of the series. But that hasn’t stopped crossovers from still happening, and it’s possible more will be on the way as SVU’s 27^th season continues its run on the 2026 TV schedule. If anything, it’s likely fans haven’t seen the last of Fin and Stabler fighting and then making up and solving a case together, but those with a Peacock subscription can rewatch all of their favorite moments.

Aside from Organized Crime’s move to Peacock, there is another reason fans should be expecting less Fin and Stabler moments. Ice-T hasn’t been appearing in many SVU episodes this season due to the fact that the budget is a little tighter after Kelli Giddish returned as a series regular. The beginning of the season explained it as Fin getting hurt and having to recover, and he did eventually come back before the first half of the season ended. But how many episodes he’ll appear in for the remainder of the season remains to be seen.

Whatever happens, it wouldn’t be surprising if Fin and Stabler’s next on-screen moment came with some fighting and some love. Law & Order is definitely unpredictable, but that’s what makes the entire franchise entertaining, especially after over three decades, and Fin and Stabler are just two characters that always seem to shake things up.

Law & Order: SVU is currently in the early days of its winter hiatus after the late November fall finale in the 2025 TV schedule, which had all hands on deck... mostly. Fin was nowhere to be seen, and while the in-universe explanation is that he's still processing his ordeal from the Season 27 premiere, Ice-T has revealed the real-life reason why he's been scarce this fall. The reason isn't altogether shocking, but I'd say that it's a bummer for longtime fans in light of new cast members joining while the one and only Odafin Tutuola has been absent.

Having not appeared in the last two episodes of the fall season, Ice-T spoke with TMZ about why he hasn't been around as much on SVU alongside Mariska Hargitay despite holding the record as the second longest-running cast member in the franchise. He said:

Fans were celebrating back in the spring when news broke that Kelli Giddish would return as a series regular, having only made some guest appearances after initially being cut from the cast in Season 24. At the time, there was no indication that her return would result in Fin's absence. Ice-T's comments do echo what he recently said to reassure fans and share his hope for Season 28. He went on to share why he's not upset at appearing in fewer episodes:

I have to agree with the decision-makers at Law & Order: SVU on at least one thing: it's hard to imagine the Law & Order franchise without Ice-T as Fin, and I've always thought that he's safer from being killed off than anybody other than Mariska Hargitay. The actor/rapper went on to say that the reduced on-screen time means that he's been able to work on other projects as well. He continued:

Count me in as one of the fans who's a little upset that Fin was the one affected by budget cuts! Of course Mariska Hargitay was never going to be cut from any episodes, and I can't hold it against Kelli Giddish that this is the way the numbers crunched. Still, Ice-T's comments about budget make me feel a little bitter that Season 27 has added Det. Jake Griffin (Corey Cott), ADA CJ Jones (Chicago Med's Norma Kuhling), Chief Tynan (Noma Dumezweni), and promoted Aimé Donna Kelly to series regular status as Capt. Renee Curry.

Admittedly, ADA Jones hasn't appeared in enough episodes to indicate that she's becoming Carisi's full-time partner like Price and Maroun over on Law & Order, Aimé Donna Kelly had been putting in the work to deserve series regular status, and I actually love Chief Tynan's dynamic with Olivia Benson, so I can't be too bitter. Seeing less of Fin is just a tough price to pay.

That said, Deadline reports that both Ice-T and Kelli Giddish are expected to appear in more than half of Season 27's 22 episodes and their totals will more or less even out, which if accurate should mean more of Fin in the 2026 TV schedule and Rollins missing more. Based on the promo for the upcoming crossover with Law & Order, both Fin and Rollins will be part of the action.

Law & Order: SVU will return from winter hiatus on Thursday, January 8 at 9 p.m. ET, following the winter premiere of Law & Order at 8 p.m. ET. In the meantime, you can revisit earlier episodes streaming on with a Peacock subscription and/or via a Hulu subscription.

The Law & Order franchise has been going strong on television going back to the original series pilot in 1990, and more than 1400 episodes have aired across the original and all the spinoffs to date. So, it's no surprise that some actors who are huge stars by this point in the 2025 TV schedule had humble guest star beginnings. Ethan Slater, who returned to theaters with the premiere of Wicked: For Good in the 2025 movie schedule, played a bad guy on SVU back in the day, and the franchise revisited his episode along with a shout out to his new movie.

Ethan Slater wasn't among the celebrities who played Keke Palmer's Law & Order drinking game earlier this year, but any longtime fans (or more recent viewers who watch with a Peacock subscriptions) may recall seeing him playing a very different character than Boq the Munchkin and Broadway's SpongeBob Squarepants in the fourth episode of Season 20 in 2018. Take a look at a clip of his performance posted on the official Law & Order Instagram account, and note the nod to Wicked from the caption:

I won't spoil the events of the episode, called "Revenge" (available streaming with a Hulu subscription as well as Peacock), in case you want to check it out yourself, but I think the clip makes it clear enough that Ethan Slater is playing a very, very, very bad guy. It's also far enough back in SVU's run that Carisi was still working as a detective, having not yet passed the bar and transitioned over to be an assistant district attorney. Peter Stone was the ADA for the unit in "Revenge."

It's a fun throwback to see Carisi and Fin teaming up against Slater's character in the Special Victims interrogation room, although that's pretty much the only fun to be found in the clip. Kudos to Elsbeth actor, because his character is chilling in his disregard for women, and I don't think Fin and Carisi could have kept their act going much longer even if they'd wanted to.

Who knew that six years after "Revenge" aired on NBC, Slater would be part of the ensemble in the film adaptation of one of the most popular musicals of the past couple decades? Having seen the Broadway show before both Wicked and Wicked: For Good hit theaters, I've had a pretty good idea about what would happen with Boq, but I'd totally forgotten that Slater had this role on SVU.

I suppose it's a compliment to the actor that he's different enough as the Munchkin that I could block the SVU criminal out of my memory! While I haven't had the chance to see For Good just yet, I'm looking for to it as much as ever. (Especially the two songs that weren't spoiled in NBC's special.)

While Ethan Slater won't be on board, Law & Order: SVU returns with more of Season 27 in the 2026 TV schedule on Thursday, January 8 at 9 p.m. ET with the second half of a crossover with Law & Order. You can also check out Wicked: For Good in theaters now.

Warning: spoilers are ahead for the fall finale of Law & Order: SVU Season 27, called "Showdown" and available streaming next day with a Peacock subscription.

NBC has aired the last new episode of Law & Order: SVU Season 27 in the 2025 TV schedule, and after what went down within the NYPD ranks in "Showdown," the stakes would be high ahead of the 2026 TV schedule even if Law & Order hadn't confirmed another crossover on the way. Olivia Benson had a standoff with Chief Tynan that has felt inevitable ever since Rollins' return, but I wasn't counting on Tynan making some good points, and it's a little nerve-wracking to acknowledge that she was not entirely wrong.

I think it's fair to say that Tynan is Benson's Season 27 NYPD nemesis, and the stage is set for some pretty juicy conflict between the women in the new year.

How Benson's Problems Started Piling Up

Promotion for "Showdown" mostly hyped a case that would have Gone Girl elements, which required all hands on deck, including the captain's... as far as Benson was concerned, anyway. Bruno and Griffin made some messy decisions early in the investigation that put an infuriated Carisi in a difficult position in court, with Peter Scanavino showing off his "intensity" that a guest star recently praised. With the case on the line, Benson volunteered to go up on the stand, and even that wasn't enough.

The closest that Carisi came to a win in the fall finale was that the rapist was remanded after a mistrial rather than having all charges dropped. By the end, Bruno was wracked with guilt, Griffin was offering to transfer, and Curry and Rollins weren't exactly at their peppiest, while Fin was once again MIA. So, Chief Tynan didn't walk in on the unit at their best in the final moments of the finale, and she had a wake-up call for the captain that Benson wasn't expecting.

The Point Of No Return With Tynan

Already on thin ice after refusing to join Chief Tynan for a press conference so that she could stay with a victim, Benson blaming the presser for contributing to the mistrial didn't exactly win her any points with Tynan, who coolly responded that she understands "the chain of command." When the Special Victims captain insisted that her job is to help victims, Tynan said:

This time, Tynan didn't quite agree when Benson argued that her team is the best in the department, saying that she's "starting to question [Benson's] supervision" and that she should "reconsider my offer to come to Police Plaza... so this unit can be led by a captain who understands how to supervise. According to the chief, the "chain of command" means that it's not Benson's decision to make.

Not one to take this quietly, Benson shot back:

Tynan responded with "That is not how this works," and Benson for the first time looked a little nervous that chain of command is actually going to be a problem for her and how she runs her unit. Much as I hate to admit it, Tynan made a good point when it comes to the power structures they exist in, and I can't blame Benson if she starts to worry about facing some problems from higher up in the NYPD. Still, the exchange did make for a juicy cliffhanger in the fall finale.

Hear Me Out: Chief Tynan Was Right About Something

Unfortunately, Tynan does have a point about Benson's status as a captain meaning that she probably shouldn't be going out in the field with boots on the ground as much as she does. I might not have agreed with the chief if this had come up last season, but the death of Cragen this fall had me thinking back on how he was always the man behind the desk who Benson (and usually Stabler) came to with their questions, problems, and messes.

Cragen was rarely in the field or interrogation room questioning witnesses, whereas Benson didn't really change much other than getting an office when she was promoted up in the ranks of the NYPD. She's as hands-on to help victims as ever, with the detectives (and officers, as the case is with Fin, Rollins, and Curry) in her unit following her lead. Benson is wonderful at many things, but supervising from afar isn't one of them.

To be perfectly clear, I don't want Olivia Benson to go the way of Captain Cragen and spend the majority of each episode behind a desk, and I doubt Mariska Hargitay would have become the face of the franchise if her character was somebody who kept distance between herself and the victims. But in-universe, her methods could get her in trouble with higher ups, and I do enjoy that Benson's nemesis isn't a mustache-twirling victim who makes it easy to just declare her wrong, Benson right, and expect business to proceed as usual.

Tynan is pragmatic, without the emotional attachment to helping victims that has made Benson such an institution within the NYPD and in the real world. Plus, I'm so used to not worrying about Benson that it's exciting to have some uncertainty about what the chain of command means for her now that she's working under somebody who will pull rank. Tynan is a worthy challenger when it comes to the politics of the job, which makes it interesting.

Sure, it's interest mixed with some dread, but a serialized element has been introduced to a procedural show, and Tynan not being entirely wrong makes this conflict fun. For as much as the Manhattan Special Victims Unit often feels like it can play by its own rules, that's not the case anymore this season. We saw Carisi losing his cool in the fall finale, with Bruno on edge and Griffin in a tricky position. How will Benson react to this threat from Tynan? And how will she prove the chief wrong?

Well, fans will unfortunately have to wait a bit to get that answer. There are several weeks of winter hiatus ahead until the midseason premiere of Law & Order: SVU Season 27 on Thursday, January 8 at 9 p.m. ET. The premiere will be half of a two-part crossover with Law & Order, starting an hour early at 8 p.m. ET, all on NBC.

Warning: spoilers are ahead for the fall finale of Law & Order Season 25, called "Parasite" and available streaming next day with a Peacock subscription.

Law & Order Season 25 has wrapped in the 2025 TV schedule, with David Ajala in action as Detective Theo Walker alongside Reid Scott's Detective Vince Riley. "Parasite" was a rare episode that was open-ended, concluding without a verdict. After ADA Price (Hugh Dancy) and ADA Sam Maroun (Odelya Halevi) cut their murder suspect loose due to evidence proving her innocent, I initially assumed that the winter premiere in the 2026 TV schedule would pick up where this episode left off. Instead, the promo revealed that a two-part crossover with Law & Order: SVU is on the way, and the dots connect about one star who will probably be back for it.

The promo doesn't actually give a way a whole lot, other than the confirmation it will be a two-hour crossover event rather than just Law & Order actors dropping by an SVU episode (or vice versa). I'm definitely curious about the clip of Price busting a door in with Maroun by his side, since the ADAs aren't usually the ones in action in the field. Take a look:

While the first shot of the promo is of Ice-T as SVU's Fin, it's a generic enough clip that, when combined with how little fans have seen of him since his injuries in the Season 27 premiere, didn't make me 100% confident that he'd actually be in the two-parter. The footage did add some context to a reveal that Ice-T himself made on social media recently, however.

He assured fans that he's "still #2" on the show after Mariska Hargitay, and "it's always a treat" when Fin shows up. He also posted a photo with two Law & Order stars that seems to settle the crossover question when it comes to Fin's involvement:

When I first saw that photo from Ice-T last week, I assumed that Fin was just dropping by an episode of Law & Order for a cameo to help Riley and Walker. Hugh Dancy and Tony Goldwyn (DA Nick Baxter) have done that from time to time on SVU, so perhaps it was Law & Order's turn to showcase a fan favorite from the other show. Now, in the wake of the fall finale, the timing suggests to me that rather than a one-off cameo, we're getting Fin back for the crossover. David Ajala posted a pic of his own:

It somehow feels fitting that Law & Order's newest detective will team up with one of the franchise's longest-running characters, although only time will tell how much screentime will be shared between Ice-T, David Ajala, and Reid Scott. With the crossover event not airing until Thursday, January 8, there's plenty of time to speculate about what brings everybody together. Law & Order will kick off the two-parter in its usual 8 p.m. ET time slot, with SVU wrapping the story up.

In addition to Walker meeting Fin, I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of a duo Benson and Brady (Maura Tierney) will be in 2026. They were a formidable pair when they were getting along in the previous crossover event, but definitely weren't getting along the whole time. For now, as winter hiatus kicks off, you can always revisit earlier episodes of both shows streaming on Peacock.

Law & Order: SVU Season 27 will wrap its fall run in the 2025 TV schedule with the midseason finale on November 20, with plenty of high-stakes episodes to look back on ahead of the 2026 TV schedule return. One of the most intense has to be "Feed the Craving," which aired back in October with Poker Face alum Danielle MacDonald as a woman who initially seemed like a victim in need of help, only to end up on the stand in her own defense opposite Carisi. The guest star spoke with CinemaBlend about being interrogated by Peter Scanavino as the ADA.

MacDonald came to Law & Order: SVU as a longtime fan, sharing that she'd grown up watching the drama in Australia, and joining the cast for an episode was "like a teenage dream." The episode, which is available streaming now with a Peacock subscription, featured MacDonald's Natalie going from presenting herself as the victim of a horrifying crime to trying to defend herself in court opposite Peter Scanavino as Carisi. When asked if the emotion of the courtroom sequence as a fan was a challenge at all with her Australian accent vs. her New York character, the actress shared:

If Carisi seemed intense in this episode of Season 27, Natalie was lucky not to be facing him when he was still reeling from his PTSD-inducing experience in Season 26! He was back at his best after getting what Peter Scanavino described as a "wake-up call" from Benson. So, Danielle MacDonald was on the stand opposite Peter Scanavino going all-out with Carisi's prosecution, and Natalie was not cooperating. When I noted to the actress that it was easy to see why Carisi can get answers out of a witness, she responded:

Even with all the intensity of the courtroom interrogation, Danielle MacDonald had nothing but good things to say about her experience on Law & Order: SVU. She shared that it was "one of the quickest jobs" she's done because "everyone's super efficient" and "know what they're doing" to make "the set a really well-oiled machine."

With that sense of efficiency perfected on a show that's 27 seasons in (and counting, if Ice-T has his way), Danielle MacDonald shared that the long process of filming the courtroom sequences "didn't feel like it was too long at all." She went on:

"Feed the Craving" technically had an open ending on Natalie's story, so it's not impossible that Benson, Carisi, and the rest will face her again on SVU. Whether or not the episode was the end of her story, Danielle MacDonald's experience clearly lived up to her teenage dream of coming on the show as a fan.

As for fans watching from home, Law & Order: SVU enters its winter hiatus on November 20 following the fall finale, but will return with more episodes of Season 27 with the midseason premiere on Thursday, January 8 at 9 p.m. ET, between Law & Order at 8 p.m. and the Season 2 premiere of The Hunting Party at 10 p.m., all on NBC. In the meantime, you can revisit earlier episodes streaming on Peacock.

Warning: spoilers are ahead for the sixth episode of FBI Season 8 on CBS, called "Parental" and available streaming next day with a Paramount+ subscription.

CBS' FBI has technically been part of the connected Dick Wolf TV universe going back to its second season, but the current Season 8 is doing just fine in the 2025 TV schedule without weekly ties to the NBC's One Chicago and Law & Order sides of the Wolf world. Still, when "Parental" included the mention of "Hudson University" in New York City, I had to flash over to Law & Order: SVU regularly featuring a fictional college of the same name.

That's not to say that FBI's Hudson University is the same as SVU's Hudson University, which is pretty good news for any undergrads in the FBI-verse's version of New York City. The school admittedly wasn't as central to the storyline of "Parental" as it was to a Jubal-centric episode of Season 7, but here's what went down in the latest episode.

What Happened At Hudson University In "Parental"

A woman by the name of Mimi Werrick was a murder suspect in the latest episode, but the team discovered that she was a continuing education student at – where else? – Hudson University, and her phone location confirmed that she'd been on campus rather than committing murders across the city. In fact, she was a victim herself, having her infant stolen from her and being told that the child had died when she'd really been sold and adopted out to another family.

Mimi wasn't the killer that Maggie and OA were looking for, but she did send them in the right direction. I also just got a kick out of her attendance at Hudson University actually working as an alibi, which generally isn't the case when Hudson is involved on Law & Order and SVU. The things that happen on SVU's Hudson campus are pretty exclusively bad.

FBI's Hudson Isn't Law & Order's Hudson

There's a reason why Maggie and OA didn't run into Law & Order's Lt. Brady or SVU's Captain Benson when their investigation briefly included Hudson University, and that is because the two shows produced by Wolf Entertainment don't feature the same college despite the name.

That's not a shocker after showrunner Mike Weiss clarified ahead of Season 8 that former SVU star Juliana Aidén Martinez would be playing "a brand new character" as an FBI series regular rather reprising her NBC role as Detective Kate Silva. Still, the FBI corner of the Wolf Entertainment franchise has technically existed in the same TV world as Law & Order, thanks to Chicago P.D.'s Tracy Spiridakos crossing over as Detective Upton back in 2020 and becoming the link between all of the shows.

If we're going by technicalities from half a decade ago, then technically there should only be one Hudson University. Realistically, however, the universities are not one and the same, and showrunner Mike Weiss told CinemaBlend this in no uncertain terms:

That may be all for the best, since there would be some doppelgangers between FBI and Law & Order beyond Juliana Aidén Martinez. Both Jeremy Sisto and Alana De La Garza were series regulars with the NYPD on Law & Order before switching to playing federal agents on FBI. Crossovers aren't set to happen as Season 8 continues.

There are still episodes left to look forward to before FBI goes on its winter break ahead of the 2026 TV schedule, though! Keep tuning in to CBS on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET for the latest episodes of FBI's eighth season, ahead of Watson at 10 p.m. ET. You can also revisit earlier episodes streaming on Paramount+.

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit is back for Season 27, and along with new episodes on the 2025 TV schedule comes a whole new season of hungrily hoping for new Bensler moments. The former SVU detective duo has been to hell and back together, flirting with death and romance along the way. They are one of the best will-they-won’t-they character duos of all time, and Christopher Meloni got surprisingly candid about what makes them so sexy to audiences.

There’s no doubt that Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni make a sexy on-screen duo. Part of it is their attractiveness; there is no denying that, but the thing that really keeps me coming back for more is the chemistry the actors have shared since their audition. The Snatched actor recently got honest with People about what makes Bensler so sexy, and his answer goes beyond just chemistry:

It’s probably clear to anyone who watches the show that Benson and Stabler have always had chemistry since day one. That chemistry eventually developed into a love and loyalty so strong that they were separated for a brief period in Season 7 for choosing each other over their case.

Of course, there are always moments where the audience is left to wonder: Does their love for each other ever dip into romance? The detective duo’s will-they-won’t-they thing existed for nearly their entire time together on SVU, and it has always been one of the most appealing aspects of the show for me (it’s why the early seasons are my favorite).

When audiences saw Stabler return to the Law & Order universe with Organized Crime, where his wife Kathy was killed in the crossover with SVU, many thought Bensler was finally going to happen. However, Detective Elliot Stabler has been back for five seasons now, and the two still have yet to finally go there, although they aren’t ignoring their feelings anymore. To that point, the Wet Hot American Summer actor got honest about the likelihood of the longtime friends becoming something more:

It’s been a hard watch too, as a fan. It’s mostly silent shared looks, awkward undercover situations that require them to pretend to be lovers, and risking their lives, families, and jobs for each other, which is pretty damn romantic if you ask me. The closest they’ve actually come to getting together, though, was a near kiss in Season 24 of SVU. I’m talking their lips were inches apart, but the timing wasn't right, and so Benson pulled back.

Now, time is running out on a Bensler happily ever after. While SVU was renewed for Season 27, Organized Crime is still in limbo, awaiting its fate on Peacock. We last saw the ex-partners reunite in the SVU Season 27 premiere, along with a number of other familiar faces like Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong) and Det. Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters), to attend OG SVU Captain Cragen’s memorial. Before they parted ways, Stabler told Liv he loved her, a line that was ad-libbed by Meloni. To me, though, there is no romantic weight to it.

I’m not sure where this leaves the two of them, but here’s my SVU hot take: I don’t think I want them to get together. They clearly are very important to each other, but if the Season 24 near kiss confirmed anything for me, it's that their relationship is almost too far past romantic to actually be romantic. It seems to me that the Happy! actor feels similarly when he says it would be “hard” and “difficult” for the two detectives to be a couple.

As for their future, Meloni’s wish for the pair is simple, and it’s the least they deserve after all the trauma they’ve been through:

If they ended up together in the end, I don’t think I’d be mad. I just hope the writers don’t force it, and they do it in the right way. However, Benson has to retire for any rides off into the sunset to take place, and I don’t see that happening soon. Mariska Hargitay has been playing SVU’s badass female lead for nearly 30 years, and I just can’t picture the Dick Wolf drama without her. I definitely think that when that happens, though, Christopher Meloni will be by her side.

On the heels of a Law & Order: SVU episode (available streaming now with a Peacock subscription) that really showcased the benefits of having Aimé Donna Kelly as a series regular and Kelli Giddish back full-time as Amanda Rollins, fans are in for what looks like a pretty big episode next in the fall 2025 TV schedule. The preview reveals that some characters from Law & Order will be crossing over to the spinoff, which definitely doesn’t happen every week. Still, I’m the most excited to get confirmation that Ice-T will finally be back as Fin.

SVU and Law & Order have only done one mega two-part crossover in recent years, but the seventh episode of Season 27, called “False Idols,” is about to bring in both DA Nick Baxter (Tony Goldwyn) and ADA Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) for a mini crossover. While that should be a treat for fans who watch both shows, SVU loyalists may be happier to see Fin back in action. Take a look:

A case must be pretty serious if the District Attorney has a part to play outside of his own show, and it should be interesting to see how Price and Carisi (Peter Scanavino) bounce off of each other after their interactions in last season’s two-parter. As for Fin, he has been absent for more than half of Season 27, with Ice-T only appearing as more than a name in the credits in the first and third episodes so far.

There was a good reason for that early on after he – to quote Ice-T – got “Fd up” in the premiere when his attempt to intervene on what appeared to be an assault ended with him in the hospital, robbed of his gun. I’m a little nervous to see if there’s fallout between Fin and Benson (Mariska Hargitay) after she felt that he betrayed her in the Season 27 opener by not telling her about his weapon.

The synopsis for “False Idols” teases that “Fin has a challenging day of work” while the squad is on the case of determining fact from fiction with a famous author involved. Since Fin and Benson’s friendship has been solid through so many highs and lows over their 26 seasons together – not the least of which were Stabler’s exit and then return – I’d hate for them to have a permanent wedge between them due to his actions in the premiere.

Honestly, the man might have been too concussed to think clearly when he made the decision to lie to his captain! Whatever the current status quo of their relationship as friends and coworkers, fans do have an extra week to wait before getting a look. “False Idols” won’t air until Thursday, November 13 in its usual 9 p.m. ET time slot on NBC between Law & Order at 8 p.m. ET and Law & Order: Organized Crime at 10 p.m. ET.

Instead of another Law & Order Thursday next week on November 6, NBC is going in a very different direction with the Wicked: One Wonderful Night TV special to hype the upcoming release of Wicked: For Good in the 2025 movie release schedule. Suffice it to say that there will be a lot more singing on a Wicked Thursday than has ever happened on a Law & Order Thursday!

The wait for the return on November 13 should be worth it. Not only is SVU finally bringing back Fin and delivering a mini crossover, but the OG Law & Order will finally introduce David Ajala’s new detective as the replacement for Mehcad Brooks’ Jalen Shaw.

NBC brought back Law & Order Thursdays in the fall 2025 TV schedule with the return of Christopher Meloni's Organized Crime to primetime. While the network is technically airing edited versions of the fifth season that's already available streaming with a Peacock subscription, having Law & Order followed by SVU and then finally OC just feels right. I've been a fan this fall, but I'm also definitely not upset that all three shows are being bumped next week, and that's because of what's bumping them. Prepare to have a lot more music than a usual Law & Order Thursday with a dose of Wicked!

A two-hour TV special called Wicked: One Wonderful Night is scheduled for Thursday, November 6 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, and CinemaBlend's Rachel Rosenfield shared some "Glindelicious" reasons why people should tune in after seeing it filmed live. The special seemingly brings out almost the full cast of Wicked and the upcoming Wicked: For Good in the 2025 movie release calendar. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will be replacing Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler, and Tony Goldwyn's Nick Baxter in primetime that night, but it'll be a star-studded evening all the same. Take a look:

The special will include performances of some of the most iconic songs from the original movie, and it looks from the promo like the cast will make up for Jonathan Bailey's absence with Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, and Bowen Yang all sporting the Fiyero costume for what I can only assume is "Dancing Through Life." As a fan of the stage show, I'm excited to see any bits of songs that weren't in the first film... but I'm also kind of hoping that my favorite songs are left until the movie actually premieres. "No Good Deed" with full context on the big screen, please!

Now, if you're a Law & Order fan who isn't also a musical theater nerd like I am, there's no need to worry. NBC isn't putting all three shows on long hiatuses. Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU will be back with brand new episodes just one week after Wicked: One Wonderful Night, on November 13. Another Season 5 episode of Organized Crime will be broadcast as well that night. Law & Order Thursdays definitely aren't done; there's just going to be a week off for some Wicked fun.

Of course, there's presumably a limited number of Law & Order Thursdays left in the 2025-2026 TV season. NBC just aired the sixth episode of Organized Crime's ten-episode Season 5, so the network is nearly out of episodes. Plus, Melissa Roxburgh's The Hunting Party is expected to return for Season 2 in midseason 2026, which could mean as early as January or as late as the spring.

So, I'm going to just enjoy the musical theater interlude on November 6 with Wicked: One Wonderful Night and then however many installments of Law & Order Thursdays are left for the season. All three crime dramas are also available streaming via Peacock.

Crime procedurals have been consistent hits on network TV for decades, with NBC's Law & Order: SVU still going strong with Mariska Hargitay as leading lady Olivia Benson since 1999 and FBI expanding that Dick Wolf TV universe to CBS in 2018 with Missy Peregrym as Agent Maggie Bell. Both shows are still going strong in the 2025 TV schedule, and fans are still rooting for Benson and Stabler to hook up on SVU. As for Maggie on FBI, Peregrym spoke with CinemaBlend with her take on romances in a procedural like hers.

To start with SVU, the power of fans rooting for a "Bensler" romance is such that even Stabler leaving the franchise for over a decade wasn't enough to quash the flames. Ice-T, who has actually starred on the show with Mariska Hargitay for the past 26 seasons, has addressed a potential Benson/Stabler romance, and Christopher Meloni's ad-libbed "Love you" in a recent SVU cameo prompted Hargitay to address it on TODAY. I'm on the record as being a fan of Benson and Stabler as just friends, but... even I also kind of wanted Stabler back on NBC full-time after that cameo.

So, what does any of this have to do with Missy Peregrym, Agent Maggie Bell, and FBI on CBS? Well, the relationship between Maggie and OA on FBI has been solidly platonic from the start, and they've become one of my favorite TV partnerships because of it. OA has found a lasting relationship with Gemma, however, while Maggie's once-promising relationship with Joel fell apart.

When I spoke with Peregrym about the Season 8 premiere (now available streaming with a Paramount+ subscription) and teaming up with SVU alum Juliana Aidén Martinez as the newest FBI star, she shared her thoughts on whether Maggie is really capable of a relationship like OA and Gemma at this point:

Considering all the near-deaths that Maggie has accumulated over the eight seasons of FBI so far, I'd say it would be very important for any romantic partner of hers to learn to live with her potential demise on a daily basis! Peregrym went on to share that while she's up for whatever the show has in store for her character, she doesn't see romance as something that Maggie needs. She explained:

I love a good fictional romance as much as anybody, but as Missy Peregrym pointed out, Maggie is a full-fledged character with the relationships that she has currently. Her friends stepped up for her when she needed them in Season 7, and I don't see that changing even with the addition of a new team member she still has to get to know.

Plus, her brief stint as Ella's guardian showed that her life is incompatible with a typical family dynamic, and there was never any question of her leaving her job at the Bureau to be a mom. She doesn't need a love interest to be interesting.

There's nothing wrong with rooting for romance between procedural characters, and as anybody who has ever read my coverage of One Chicago elsewhere in the Dick Wolf TV universe knows, I'd be lying if I claimed that I never had my favorites. But Missy Peregrym pointed out an important truth: a character can be fully-formed without a love interest, especially when the core of her character is in her work, and that's the case for Maggie Bell at this point.

New episodes of FBI are now airing on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS after spending seven seasons on Tuesday nights. The time slot change came after the cancellations of FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, with the show now airing ahead of Watson Season 2.

As for Benson and Stabler over in the Law & Order corner of the TV universe... well, at this point, it remains to be seen if Law & Order: Organized Crime is renewed for Season 6 and/or whether Christopher Meloni has the time to keep showing up on SVU, so Bensler fans who have been waiting for 27 seasons will just have to keep on waiting for the time being.

Even though Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T have been starring on Law & Order: SVU for more than a quarter century, the show has still gone through plenty of cast changes over the course of 27 seasons and counting. Aimé Donna Kelly is one of the newest additions, and even earned a promotion for the fall 2025 TV schedule after two regulars were cut. Now, with Velasco gone after Octavio Pisano's brief return and Juliana Aidén Martinez starring on CBS' FBI instead of returning as Kate Silva, it's worth looking at what Kelly said about sticking around and playing Captain Curry full-time this season.

Captain Curry was an unconventional addition to Benson's Special Victims Unit from the start, as she holds the same rank as the leading lady does. That hasn't stopped her from becoming a valuable part of the team, and it isn't lost on the actress. Speaking with Us Weekly about how she "cried" after learning that she was being promoted to series regular for Season 27, Aimé Donna Kelly went on:

Aimé Donna Kelly isn't the first Law & Order: SVU guest star to be brought back and become a series regular, although unlike Kelli Giddish and Peter Scanavino when they made their first appearances in the franchise, she has played the same character from the start. Her promotion for Season 27 also happens to coincide with Giddish's return as a series regular, after the Rollins actress was cut from the main cast in Season 24. Kelly weighed in on the expanded cast now including Benson, Curry, and Rollins, saying:

Considering that one of my wishes for SVU after the two women out of the three Season 24 newcomers ultimately weren't brought back as regulars was for the Special Victims Unit to bring in more female detectives, I'm on board with Aimé Donna Kelly hyping what it's like to see Benson, Curry, and Rollins "tackle these huge challenges." Check out the promo for the next episode, airing on October 30 and featuring all three ladies of SVU:

Keep tuning in to NBC on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of Law & Order: SVU, between Law & Order's milestone 25th season at 8 p.m. ET and broadcasts of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 at 10 p.m. ET. All three shows are also available streaming next day with a Peacock subscription.

The rest of the cast of Season 27 series regulars includes Peter Scanavino as ADA Carisi, Kevin Kane as Detective Bruno, Kelli Giddish as now-Sergeant Rollins, and of course Ice-T as Fin and Mariska Hargitay as Benson. Law & Order's Tony Goldwyn also made a brief guest appearance on SVU as DA Nick Baxter.

A new recurring addition this season has been ADA Cindy Jones, who works alongside from time to time Carisi and is played by Chicago Med vet Norma Kuhling. While Jones hasn't been around long enough to really get much time in the spotlight, I do feel comfortable saying that she's not in for the kind of twist that Kuhling got for her final episodes of Med!

Law & Order: SVU is in its 27^th season on the 2025 TV schedule, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. It’s hard to believe that the show has been around since 1999, and it’s still bringing in fans. That being said, SVU wouldn’t be what it is without Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni, who had instant chemistry during their audition. Now, the Olivia Benson actress is giving more details about that audition, and the hilarious story involves a John Slattery mix-up and jokes about Jesus.

When Hargitay appeared on Amy Poehler’s podcast Good Hang, the host asked her about her first days on SVU and if meeting Dick Wolf was "scary." The actress explained that it wasn't, and that led her into the story about her "magical" audition with Meloni. She pointed out that she and her co-star bonded over their similar personalities and sense of humor, and the two ended up getting paired up for the callback. She said:

However, initially, she didn't think she'd be paired with Meloni; she thought she would be with John Slattery.

Poehler and Hargitay both shared how chemistry reads can make or break auditions and your chance to be on a show. So, when the actress heard that Slattery was at the audition, she wanted to do everything she could to impress him and bond with him. However, she wasn’t paired with him...as she explained:

As Poehler continued laughing, Hargitay continued her story, revealing that she didn’t know there were going to be 47 people in the room. So the initial back-and-forth between her and Meloni was a bit awkward. However, once she found out the real reason he had a Jesus tattoo, she knew she liked him, as she recalled:

I just love that a joke as ridiculous as that one is what really cemented their bond and made Hargitay know that her eventual co-star was guy she'd get along with. It’s certainly a different reason to have a Jesus tattoo, but that turned out to be for the better. And it was in that moment that Hargitay knew the show had found its Elliot Stabler:

Hargitay wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as Meloni had a similar thought about her. And when they were paired up, she knew immediately they were partners. Her feelings turned out to be right. To this day, the actors are best friends and always joking with each other, and it’s always a treat when Benson and Stabler are on-screen together as their relationship continues to be a “Will they/won’t they?” scenario.

It's hard to imagine how different SVU would have been had Hargitay been paired up with John Slattery. Not that he wouldn’t be a good Stabler, but Meloni as Stabler and Hargitay as Benson just worked out, and they’re definitely part of the reason why SVU has been going so long. It was just an instant connection, even if their relationship wasn't so great in the early years.

Law & Order: SVU has entered a new era in the fall 2025 TV schedule, with the arrival of the show's first female showrunner as well as the Season 27 return of fan-favorite Kelli Giddish as Amanda Rollins. In the new episode on October 23, the Special Victims Unit will catch a case that's much more complicated than it initially seems, even by SVU standards. Former Poker Face cast member Danielle MacDonald will appear in the installment, and she spoke with CinemaBlend about her status as a longtime fan as well as what appealed to her about her character.

The new episode on October 23 is called "Feed the Craving," which MacDonald teased means "not being able to help yourself" in "relation to this story." The case will pick up when a woman in active labor is kidnapped, with the newly-returned Rollins joining forces with Curry to chase down clues via the woman's doula. It will eventually be on Carisi to try and get a confession to close the case, with Benson in the mix as always despite Chief Tynan's efforts to promote her to a desk job.

For Danielle MacDonald, who plays a character by the name of Natalie in "Feed the Craving," this episode will be her first appearance in the Law & Order franchise, and she shared that she is among the many who grew up as fans of SVU. She shared:

When a show has been around for nearly thirty years, airing in syndication for well over a decade, and available now via streaming services like a Peacock subscription and a Hulu subscription, is it any wonder that there are many SVU fans who came to love the show as youngsters despite the very dark storylines? Danielle MacDonald was understandably excited to join a series that she'd been watching since she was a teen in Australia, and shared her take on why SVU is so popular:

The structure has certainly been working to keep Law & Order: SVU on the air for 27 seasons so far, and is even a little less structured than the format of the original Law & Order. Of course, it. doesn't hurt SVU that Mariska Hargitay has been the star from the very beginning, with MacDonald saying that it was "a little surreal at first" to join forces with the Emmy-winner.

While fans will have to tune in to see how Natalie fits into the storyline of the woman who's abducted while in active labor, Danielle MacDonald acknowledged that guest stars can have pretty grim parts to play in a story, and previewed her character:

Natalie will be a key character in the first episode with Rollins back in Special Victims full-time, so it should be interesting to see how the case unfolds for the civilians involved as well as how the investigators work together for one of the first times. MacDonald went on to share what about Natalie appealed to her when she read the script for the "Feed the Craving" episode:

The promo for "Feed the Craving" sheds a bit more light, revealing that Benson will discover there are a lot more victims than she expected. Take a look:

See Danielle MacDonald's episode of Law & Order: SVU on Thursday, October 23 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, between the newest installment of Law & Order's milestone Season 25 and the edited-for-broadcast fifth season of Law & Order: Organized Crime. You can also find all three shows streaming on Peacock.

Spoilers are ahead for Episode 4 of Law & Order: SVU Season 27, called "Clickbait" and available streaming next day with a Peacock subscription.

The long-awaited episode that officially brought Amanda Rollins back to her old Law & Order: SVU stomping grounds has finally aired, with returning series regular Kelli Giddish opposite Mariska Hargitay once more in the fall 2025 TV schedule. Rollins' full-time return to Special Victims has been all but inevitable since the news broke that Giddish would be back as more than a guest star, and the time seemed right after Velasco's exit was written in. I was skeptical about how it could happen, but I'm happy to say that "Clickbait" nailed it, as far as I'm concerned.

Why I Was Skeptical About Rollins' Return

As one of many SVU fans dismayed to learn that Kelli Giddish had been cut from the cast back in Season 24, I've been excited to have her back as Rollins full-time. At the same time, the same issue that has been bugging me about Curry had me skeptical about how the show could reincorporate her, and it's all because of her promotion from detective to sergeant.

Curry is of course a captain, which should place her on well-deserved equal rank to Benson, but Curry is instead working under Benson. I'm no expert in NYPD power structures, but it always struck me as odd that one unit could have two captains. Then, Fin is already a sergeant within Special Victims. At this point, Manhattan SVU is nearly full of officers, and then also Bruno and Griffin.

So, how would it work for Rollins to want to leave her key leadership position to come back to her old unit? Giddish had previously said it felt "right" for Rollins to be leading in the Intelligence Bureau (not to be confused with Chicago P.D.'s Intelligence Unit elsewhere in the Dick Wolf TV Universe). I was on board with more Rollins, but had my doubts about how.

Luckily, those doubts are gone as of "Clickbait."

Why Rollins Decided To Return Despite Her Promotion

Yes, Rollins is returning to the same job she'd held as a detective, but the build up to her decision didn't feel contrived or like she was taking a demotion. The seeds were planted early in "Clickbait," with Chief Tynan once again trying to woo Benson away from her longtime gig in Manhattan SVU to take a desk job as Deputy SVU Chief. It wasn't working... then Tynan dangled the idea of Benson getting Rollins back to fill the vacancy left by Velasco.

Benson was surprised to learn that Rollins was looking to move on from the Intelligence Bureau, but that wasn't enough for her to fall for what she believed was Tynan's effort to play her. Tynan insisted that she's just trying to get Benson to like her; the captain didn't seem to buy that explanation, and she's not the only one.

Rollins visited Special Victims in the final minutes of the episode to speak with Benson, apologizing for the "radio silence" while she was weighing her options. She confirmed that she genuinely did want to leave Intelligence with this explanation:

Tynan is changing everything, and the one thing seemingly holding Rollins back from rejoining her old crew was that she didn't want to play "a pawn in whatever game Tynan's playing with you, it doesn't sit right." Rollins halfheartedly pitched the idea of going back to teaching if she didn't come back to SVU, which Benson laughed off.

Acknowledging that the offer might come back to bite her down the line, Benson still said that "personally, it sure would be nice to have somebody in here that I could trust." While I don't love what that says about possible ongoing fallout with Fin after the events of the Season 27 premiere, Rollins acknowledged what Benson wasn't saying out loud: she could trust Rollins but couldn't trust Griffin.

So, A+ to SVU on Rollins' reason for wanting to leave a leadership role in Intel to come back to her old unit, and A+ on Benson acknowledging that she wanted Rollins back despite suspecting that Tynan was playing them. Is it still a little weird that Manhattan SVU is full of officers? Sure, but if I'm willing to overlook the timeline issues with SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime for the sake of enjoying the story, I certainly can do the same to get Rollins back where she belongs.

See more of Kelli Giddish as Amanda Rollins with new episodes of Law & Order: SVU Season 27 on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, between Law & Order Season 25 at 8 p.m. ET and Law & Order: Organized Crime's already-released fifth season at 10 p.m. ET. You can also find the latest episodes of the franchise streaming on Peacock.

Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of Law & Order: SVU Season 27, called "A Waiver of Consent" and available streaming next day with a Peacock subscription, and the second episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 that aired in April.

Three full hours of Law & Order action are back on NBC this fall of the 2025 TV schedule, with new episodes of Law & Order, new episodes of SVU, and Season 5 episodes of Organized Crime. OC Season 5 already released in full with all the F-bombs that the actors could hope for on Peacock. While those F-bomb have been edited out for the NBC broadcast, there was one perk of the second episode of OC Season 5 airing right after SVU this fall. This time around, Olivia Benson's sudden appearance at her former partner's bedside makes perfect sense.

That's not to suggest that it wouldn't make sense in any scenario for Benson to visit Stabler on what could have been his deathbed, but SVU provided a transition that really helps make the whole Law & Order world feel more cohesive, despite the twist originally happening on OC in mid-April. I'm not sure what it says about the timeline within the L&O world, but I'm a fan, and this is really the first time that I missed having Christopher Meloni's show on network TV.

The scene took place in Benson's office at the very end of the latest episode of SVU Season 27, after she seemingly came to terms with newcomer Detective Griffin sticking around at least a little longer. Bruno came in with a worried expression on his face to tell her this:

And because she has known Stabler for nearly three decades now, Benson immediately knew that it wasn't exactly because he sprained his ankle or needed his appendix removed. She grabbed her things and rushed out of her office... and if you watched the first two episodes of Organized Crime Season 5 after they released after the Law & Order/SVU crossover back in the spring, you know where this was going.

Mariska Hargitay crossed to Organized Crime for Episode 2 of the fifth season earlier this year, and her role was much more than just a quick cameo. Benson and Stabler partnered up again, and OC leaned on their longtime friendship rather than attempting to fan any romantic flames between them. (Christopher Meloni actually wrote the episode, so he's behind one of my favorite moments between Dean Norris as Randall Stabler and Benson.)

I so wish that the timing had somehow worked out for the scene with Bruno alerting Benson that her former partner had gotten himself into trouble for the 479th time (ballpark estimate) to air at the end of a new episode of SVU and directly lead into a brand new episode of Organized Crime. It was a reminder of the fun of the occasional crossovers – large and small – of the years when OC directly followed SVU in primetime.

Did I get a kick out of Stabler and Co. getting to drop some four-letter words on Peacock that would never fly on NBC? For sure. Would I be mad if Organized Crime was somehow renewed for Season 6 on the condition of moving back to NBC? I would not. Whatever happens, I can say this: I hope OC gets that renewal for either platform ASAP, and I appreciate that NBC brought back Law & Order Thursdays by editing OC for broadcast. Timeline be damned!

Keep tuning in to NBC on Thursdays starting at 8 p.m. ET for Law & Order Season 25, continuing with SVU Season 27 at 9 p.m. ET, and more of Organized Crime Season 5 at 10 p.m. ET. Along with the full fifth season of OC, you can also finds the latest episodes of the other two shows.

Law & Order: SVU Season 27 kicked off in the fall 2025 TV schedule by delivering a major death, to the dismay of many fans: Captain Don Cragen, played across more than twenty years in the franchise by Dann Florek. Fortunately, Florek is still alive and well, and his character's death was honored in the Season 27 premiere (which is available streaming now with a Peacock subscription). The tragedy comes not too long after he opened up about handing the leadership of the unit over to Mariska Hargitay's character, with Olivia Benson stepping up as Captain of Special Victims following Cragen's retirement.

Florek, who starred in three seasons of Law & Order before starring in fifteen seasons of SVU, was among those who celebrated the series in honor of its 25th anniversary last year. Speaking with People, he said this about Cragen retiring and being succeeded by Benson:

Following his retirement in 2014, Cragen was (mostly) able to enjoy eleven years off the job. He did appear in one Season 16 episode the next year, and was pulled into the action by Stabler on Law & Order: Organized Crime for several episodes between 2022-2024. His most meaningful return after his Season 15 retirement, however, was also very quick: he appeared via video call in the 500th episode. Reflecting on the moment he shared with Mariska Hargitay in that milestone episode, Florek said:

If you revisit the 500th episode, which is streaming on Peacock as well as via a Hulu subscription, you'll find that Benson also looked like she was gonna cry when she got that vote of confidence from her former captain. What made it even more special, as far as I'm concerned, is that Cragen waited to say it until they were in a one-on-one chat, instead of when he was video-calling the larger group of detectives about their case of the week.

At the time, I'd been hoping that Christopher Meloni as Stabler would pop up in the 500th episode, but Dann Florek as Cragen was really the more effective choice. The episode also brought back former regulars Danny Pino as Nick Amaro and the one and only Tamara Tunie as ME Chief Melinda Warner. Other recurring actors to return were Ryan Buggle as Benson's son and attorney Trevor Langan, played by Mariska Hargitay's real-life husband Peter Hermann.

While I'm certainly sad that Season 27 began on such a tragic note as the off-screen death of Captain Cragen, I did appreciate that SVU brought Dann Florek back to record a speech that played at Cragen's memorial. Plus, considering that it resulted in Benson, Fin, and even a visiting Stabler starting to consider their own mortality, it could pack a punch throughout the season if this is an arc that the show continues.

While Cragen is seemingly gone for good now, barring any flashbacks or recordings, his legacy lives on in the form of Captain Olivia Benson. You can catch new episodes this fall on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET, between Law & Order Season 25 at 8 p.m. ET and Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 at 10 p.m. ET, all on NBC. (Organized Crime's uncensored fifth season is already available on Peacock.) You can find Captain Cragen's best episodes streaming on Peacock and Hulu as well.

Let it not be said that Law & Order: SVU has lost its shock factor despite being almost thirty years in, because the Season 27 premiere in the 2025 TV schedule was a game-changer. As if it wasn't enough that the drama killed off Captain Cragen, Fin was attacked and robbed on his way home from the memorial. While he wasn't so badly injured that he couldn't play video games from his hospital room by the end of the episode, it was harrowing to watch Fin be brutally attacked. According to Ice-T, he won't even be in the next episode to show any healing progress.

Fin's Attack And Ice-T's Return

Fin's attack wasn't altogether shocking after Ice-T himself shared a photo of him on set looking "f'd up," and he told EW ahead of time that "in the first episode," Fin gets his "ass beaten and end up in the hospital," leading him to ask an understandable question: "what the f--- is going on?" (The episode is available streaming now with a Peacock subscription.) Fortunately, Fin wasn't killed in the attack, and the rapper/actor shared when he'll be back working in Special Victims:

Ice-T also shared what can happen when you're killed off SVU since it exists in Dick Wolf's TV universe where actors can play multiple characters, but hopefully fans never have to worry about Fin's untimely end. If his attack in the Season 27 premiere is as close that we get to Fin in mortal danger, then I will be a happy SVU fan! It's hard to imagine SVU without both Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T. That said, their characters didn't exactly end the premiere on good terms.

Will There Be Fallout For Fin's Decisions In The Season 27 Premiere?

Unfortunately, Benson and Fin were on the outs by the end of the first episode of Season 27. Fin hadn't informed his captain that his service weapon was stolen in the attack, relying on Bruno and Velasco to track it down and get it back. Fin had the best of intentions, believing that Benson had enough to worry about with the arrival of a new Detective Chief who could cause complications for the unit.

Well, Benson got wind of the stolen gun courtesy of Rollins, in Kelli Giddish's first episode back on SVU as a series regular. While Fin may or may not get in official NYPD trouble for losing his gun, he's in hot water with the captain. She didn't take well to him lying to her about the gun, and if fans know anything about Olivia Benson – especially in the wake of Stabler leaving her – it's that she doesn't take well to betrayal, and she saw Fin's decision as a betrayal.

The episode ended with Fin declaring that he'd win her trust back and apologizing, so I'm hoping that this fight was just a brief bump in the road of their friendship, but it was also harsh enough that I can definitely imagine fallout as Season 27 continues. On the one hand, I enjoy when a procedural TV show also includes a serialized storyline or two, and fallout in the former of a one-sided feud between Benson and Fin would qualify. On the other hand... do I really want to see Law & Order's longest-running friendship falling apart?

Tune in to NBC on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of Law & Order: SVU Season 27, between Law & Order's milestone Season 25 at 8 p.m. ET and Season 5 episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime at 10 p.m. ET.

NBC’s Law & Order Thursdays are back in the fall 2025 TV schedule, with the original series kicking off Season 25 with an unceremonious cast exit and SVU killing off a beloved character to start Season 27. This year, Organized Crime is back in primetime despite making the move to streaming for viewers with a Peacock subscription earlier this year. NBC is airing an F-bomb-free version of Season 5 on Thursday nights, and any fans who loved Christopher Meloni’s appearance in SVU’s premiere won’t want to miss the next episode of OC that will air with Mariska Hargitay as a guest star.

Christopher Meloni’s SVU Ad-Lib

The one perk of SVU’s premiere killing off Dann Florek’s Captain Don Cragen (who had been in the franchise going back to Law & Order’s pilot) was that it led to some reunions from classic seasons of the show. BD Wong was back as Dr. George Huang, Dean Winters reprised his role as Brian Cassidy, and Christopher Meloni made his long-awaited return to share the screen with Mariska Hargitay as the Stabler to her Benson.

Benson and Stabler shared a bittersweet moment outside of Cragen’s memorial gathering, reflecting on their years working together when he was their captain. It was exactly the kind of comfortable interaction that I was missing between the former partners during all the tension of the first few seasons following his return to NYC. The scene ended with Stabler dropping a “Love you” on Benson, in a much more appropriate setting than the first time he did it, before she drove away.

And as it turns out, fans have Christopher Meloni to thank for that moment. On X (formerly known as Twitter), the actor responded to a fan asking for a comment on the “Love you” by revealing that it was an “Ad lib” that “Made the cut.”

As somebody who loves when Meloni and Mariska Hargitay share the screen but definitely doesn’t need a romance out of their characters, the ad lib really worked for me, and reminded me of the last time that I’d seen the duo on screen together on Organized Crime.

Mariska Hargitay’s Episode Of Organized Crime Season 5

Now, I won’t spoil the events of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 here for any who are watching for the first time on NBC rather than streamed it on Peacock over the summer, but Mariska Hargitay’s guest appearance was highly hyped ahead of time. As NBC viewers recently saw with the Season 5 premiere, Stabler ended the episode in a car crash, and the promo afterward showed that he 1) ends up in the hospital and 2) is not happy to be in the hospital.

And of course, Mariska Hargitay appears as Olivia Benson. Without getting into big spoilers, I’ll say that Benson and Stabler’s interactions in this episode of Organized Crime might be my favorites from any of the years since Meloni returned to the Law & Order world in 2021. And that's despite my soft spot for their relationship in SVU’s Season 24 finale! It also delivers something that I’ve wanted for a long time: Benson meeting one of Stabler’s brothers.

Basically, if you enjoyed Christopher Meloni adding a "Love you” to the SVU Season 27 premiere, I think you’ll enjoy seeing how Benson and Stabler interact in the second episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime, which will air on NBC on Thursday, October 2 at 10 p.m. ET. If you’d rather see it sooner, you can find it streaming on Peacock now. (If you’ve already seen it, check out what Dean Norris told us about one of my favorite scenes.)

Spoilers ahead for the Season 27 premiere of Law & Order: SVU in the 2025 premiere schedule, called "In the Wind" and available streaming now with a Peacock subscription.

Law & Order: SVU wasted no time in delivering massive twists for Olivia Benson and Co. in Season 27, and these aren't just procedural twists that will be forgotten by the next episode. "In the Wind" delivered the death of a beloved character who has been around not just since the beginning of SVU, but since the beginning of the original Law & Order. Captain Cragen himself has died, leaving a hole in the Law & Order universe despite only making sporadic franchise appearances in recent years. While it was a tragic way to start a new season, it did provide some perks for longtime viewers.

The Death Of Captain Cragen

The Season 27 premiere opened with a high-heeled Captain Olivia Benson walking to a bar for the memorial service of Captain Donald Cragen, her Special Victims captain for the first fifteen seasons of the series. The episode didn't specify what caused Cragen's death but instead focused on memorializing the character, like with the (admittedly brief) tribute to Richard Belzer's John Munch in the wake of Belzer's passing in 2023.

Dann Florek is still alive, however, and actually was credited with a "Special Guest Appearance" for what he did film for the premiere. His previous most recent episode had been in the milestone 500th in 2021, although he joined Christopher Meloni for several episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime between 2022-2024. Between SVU, OC, and Law & Order, Florek is credited for playing Cragen across hundreds of episodes and 25 years.

So, I feel comfortable saying that SVU killing off Cragen is game-changing for the entire Law & Order universe, since he's been an institution in that world going back to the start. It made for an emotional start to Season 27, especially since it seemed to lead Olivia and Fin to consider their own mortality. But there was a perk in the form of some other SVU vets who came back for the memorial.

Law & Order Reunions From The Classic Seasons (And Also Cassidy)

Dann Florek was one of four former SVU stars to reprise their roles for the Season 27 premiere. Christopher Meloni had already been confirmed to appear in the episode as Stabler opposite Mariska Hargitay as Benson, but I was pleasantly surprised to see BD Wong back as Dr. George Huang. Along with Florek and Meloni, Wong had a key role in what I consider to be the classic years of SVU: with Detectives Benson, Stabler, Tutuola, and Munch under Captain Cragen.

Dean Winters also turned up, and while he originated his role as Brian Cassidy starting back in the pilot in 1999, he didn't return in a meaningful way until Season 13 in 2012. Neither he nor BD Wong had major scenes in the Season 27 premiere, but the same fortunately can't be said for Christopher Meloni.

While Mariska Hargitay appeared in a memorable episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime earlier this year, "In the Wind" was the first time that Benson and Stabler shared a scene on SVU since 2023, and it was exactly what I wanted as somebody who loves seeing Hargitay and Meloni on the small screen together but is decidedly not a "Bensler" shipper after all the messiness.

They shared a 1:1 scene with Stabler waiting by her car rather than going into the memorial, and it was a nice combination of sweet and sad as they reflected on their good years together with Cragen as well as being in the "all-our-friends-are-dying era." As they went their separate ways after sharing a hug, Stabler dropped a "Love you" on her in some much better timing than when he messily said it on Organized Crime.

The interaction also gave me the impression that the former partners have spent some time together off screen, and the painful awkwardness of earlier seasons wasn't there. This was more like their interactions in her latest Organized Crime episode, and it was nice to see in the wake of Cragen's death. Take a look:

It remains to be seen if this will be the only time that Meloni appears on SVU this season, with the future of Organized Crime still in limbo after the Season 5 finale released on Peacock in June. For now, keep tuning in to NBC on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of Law & Order: SVU Season 27. Hopefully Fin won't have too many lingering effects from his brutal injuries in the premiere, and my fingers are crossed that the argument between Benson and Fin won't cause any problems moving forward.

Law & Order: SVU is gearing up for its 27^th season on the 2025 TV schedule, premiering this Thursday on NBC. With the show’s return, Mariska Hargitay continues her reign as not only the longest-running Law & Order franchise star, but also as the actress behind the longest-running primetime live-action character of all time: Olivia Benson. However, these records almost didn’t happen because of a decision the Emmy-winning actress made about her hair way back in Season 3, and she finally told the story.

Considering SVU has been on for 26 seasons, there have been some changes when it comes to the cast, from who has come and gone, to even appearance transformations. This includes hair, and just a few seasons in, Hargitay revealed she was coaxed into a change. She recalled to Allure how her pixie cut during Season 3 came about, and it sounds like it wasn't even her idea.

Through the course of the show, Olivia Benson's signature look has included medium-long hair, but the pixie cut was drastically different for the character. Sure, it was early in the show's run, but it was a drastic change, and if you've been watching the show since it's inception, I'd be willing to bet your remember it. And it came around the time some other famous names like Keri Russell infamously cut their hair for TV.

Of course, it’s not like a haircut changed anything with Benson's storyline, and her hairstylist probably didn’t assume backlash would ensue. But there were some tense moments...

Say it aint' so! Hargitay has been on SVU since the show’s inception in 1999, and at this point, it’s hard to imagine the show without her. Longtime star Ice-T has even gotten real about how long the series could last, noting that its longevity is due to the actress' devotion and choice to continue these days. However, during SVU’s early years, that power and involvement wasn’t always the case, as evidenced by Hargitay’s story. It’s pretty crazy she almost got fired over a haircut, but luckily, she stayed on, and it’s definitely a good thing she did.

I can't say for certain what would have happened had Hargitay actually gotten fired from SVU, but I'd be willing to bet the show would have turned out completely differently and, more than likely, would not have reached 27 seasons.

A while back, Ice-T did reveal what could happen “if you die on SVU,” saying you could either come back depending on circumstances surrounding your character, or even move on to a different Dick Wolf show. I do think it would have been fun to see her on a different show in the Wolf Universe, especially if she were playing a different character. But if they fired her, who knows what could have happened on that front?

Since almost getting fired, Olivia’s hair hasn’t been nearly as short, so she probably learned a lesson from the surprise cut. That being said, it’s never too late for another change, even if it is a subtle one. Maybe producers will let her get down with a more interesting cut again in the future.

Stars from all three current Law & Order shows came together ahead of the 2025 TV schedule returns for the 77th Primetime Emmys to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the franchise, with Special Victims Unit’s Mariska Hargitay placed front and center on stage as the one star who has been with her show from the very beginning in 1999. The actors got giggly behind the scenes, as Organized Crime’s Christopher Meloni shared a cute video of Hargitay teasing him about never winning an Emmy… and then belatedly realizing that he was recording her.

While none of the Law & Order shows had scored any nominations for the 2025 Primetime Emmys, SVU’s Mariska Hargitay remains the franchise’s only star to win an Emmy as a lead actor, taking home the trophy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006. Back in his days as an SVU co-lead, Christopher Meloni was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series that same year, but lost to Kiefer Sutherland for 24.

The two are longtime friends, and that friendship was clear in the unfiltered video that Meloni shared from behind the scenes at the Emmys. Take a look at the second slide of his Instagram post for the clip:

I’m not sure what my favorite part of the video is, but the top two candidates are the look on Mariska Hargitay’s face (followed by her laughter) when she realized that Christopher Meloni recorded her saying that he'd "never" win an Emmy, and him gleefully saying “And she curses!” to the camera after her “Oh shit!” reaction. It’s definitely a fun contrast to how they presented themselves on stage. (The Emmys are available streaming with a Paramount+ subscription, while SVU can be found with a Peacock subscription.)

Hargitay and Meloni kept straight faces and stayed on script during the Law & Order segment of the Emmys alongside current Law & Order star Tony Goldwyn, former Law & Order star (and current Chicago Med series regular) S. Epatha Merkerson, and SVU’s Ice-T. Those straight faces were nowhere to be seen behind the scenes with the two pals walking by a tray full of Emmys, and now I’m even more excited to see Meloni reprising his role as Elliot Stabler opposite Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson in the upcoming SVU Season 27.

As for whether Meloni will ever win an Emmy… well, the wait is currently on for Law & Order: Organized Crime to be renewed for Season 6, so let’s cross our fingers for that news before anything else! Meloni also shared a photo of the full SVU reunion, with Ice-T sporting a big smile:

These three stars don’t often have reasons to smile like this when playing their characters in the franchise, especially Ice-T and Mariska Hargitay when their show is about – to quote the opening narration – ”sexually based offenses” that are “considered especially heinous.” So, it’s nice to see them dressed to the nines and looking happy in real life.

All three stars will be back in primetime this fall, and not just with Meloni making an appearance on his old show. On NBC’s Thursday nights, Law & Order Season 25 airs at 8 p.m. ET, Law & Order: SVU Season 27 airs at 9 p.m. ET, and Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 (which is already available streaming on Peacock) will air at 10 p.m. ET. Tune in to NBC on Thursday, September 25 to see the first new episodes since back in the spring!

Some red-carpet pairings you can predict. Sydney Sweeney and Christopher Meloni trading a giddy Emmys selfie wasn’t one of them. Seated near the Law & Order: SVU icon—whose series hits Season 27 on the 2025 TV schedule—at the 2025 Emmy ceremony, Sweeney did what any fan would: snapped the moment and shared it.

Sweeney posted the evidence on her Instagram Story, which you can see below, sharing a group selfie from inside the ceremony and writing, “If you know me you know how excited I was,” while tagging @chris_meloni and @therealmariskahargitay. The energy is peak “I just met my TV hero,” and the grin says it all.

Talk about a delightful crossover of entertainment worlds. Sweeney is a lead on the prestige drama Euphoria (available with an HBO Max subscription), while Meloni anchored Law & Order: SVU from 1999 to 2011 before returning in the spinoff Law & Order: Organized Crime (streaming with a Peacock subscription). His pop-culture profile—part stoic detective, part wink-to-camera icon—made the Madame Web actress’s genuine fangirl moment especially great to see.

And since we’re talking Meloni, it’s worth zooming out on the career arc that made this selfie such a thrill. He launched Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU in 1999 and, across 12 seasons, helped define the show’s steel-spined heart as a detective who could be volcanic at times but tender with survivors. Not to mention, he was also unshakably loyal to his partner, Olivia Benson. When Meloni left after Season 12, Stabler’s absence became part of SVU lore—one of those TV departures that fans still debate in comment sections and think pieces.

To seal her Law & Order cred, the White Lotus veteran also tagged Mariska Hargitay—a smart move. Even though Hargitay isn’t in the shot, the honorary gif nod is a love letter to fans who’ve long shipped Benson and Stabler (a.k.a. Bensler Nation). If you’ve ever yelled “DUN-DUN!” at your screen, you felt this one.

Law & Order: Organized Crime reintroduced Stabler to New York with a new mission, swapping SVU’s case-of-the-week rhythm for serialized takedowns of criminal syndicates. The spinoff leans into long-game storytelling, with season-spanning nemeses, while letting Meloni flex the full range that made him a star. Crossovers with SVU keep the connective tissue strong (and Bensler speculation alive), yet Organized Crime feels unmistakably its own animal, straddling prestige and pop entertainment, which is exactly why a quick awards-night selfie with the Everything Sucks! actress is so apropos.

The Sharp Objects alum had a year of whiplash-fast pivots—thrillers, rom-coms, a superhero one-off, high-gloss fashion campaigns—and yet her awards-night highlight was being a fan among legends. It’s the best kind of celebrity moment when they are entirely relatable. And for Meloni, whose career sits at the intersection of “serious actor” and “walking meme,” it’s further proof that the SVU extended universe includes basically all of us.

Should we, Sweeney and Law & Order fans, start manifesting a cameo in the L&O cosmos? Look, we’ve seen crazier crossovers, and the casting synergy is right there. And even if it doesn’t happen, we can still file this Emmy crossover under: unexpectedly wholesome.

As for Sydney Sweeney’s next role, she is set to star as Christy Martin in the biopic Christy, set to hit the 2025 movie schedule on November 7.

Law & Order: SVU soon returns in the fall 2025 TV schedule for Season 27, which means the returns of two actors who have been part of NBC's lineup for more than a quarter century: Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T, who hold the #1 and #2 spots of actors to appear in the most episodes of the franchise. Ice-T, who has been playing Odafin "Fin" Tutuola since SVU Season 2 in 2000, has opened up about the wider Dick Wolf TV universe and what can happen if an actor is killed off. I'm just counting on SVU never delivering that kind of twist for Fin!

The SVU cast is changing for Season 27, with the departures of Octavio Pisano as Velasco and Juliana Aidén Martinez as Silva as series regulars, as well as the long-awaited return of Kelli Giddish as Amanda Rollins. Pisano is coming back for at least one last episode, hopefully not for Velasco to be killed off! Speaking with EW, Ice-T shared a surprisingly optimistic take about what can happen for an actor even after being killed or written out:

Ice-T must be on Dick Wolf's very good side, as he's currently the longest-running cast member in the Law & Order franchise behind Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson. That's not to say that his character has it easy in the Special Victims Unit, however, and Ice-T shared a photo of Fin all "Fd up" for the Season 27 premiere. Based on further comments to EW, the sergeant might not be able to shake off his injuries too quickly. He said:

Fear not, fellow SVU fans – Fin ending up in the hospital to start Season 27 doesn't mean that he'll be MIA for too long, and I actually wonder if the character being temporarily out of commission will be what brings Rollins in. I've been wondering about how Special Victims will function with two sergeants after Rollins was promoted in her return to the NYPD.

I may have to wait until SVU returns in September for the answer to that particular question, but I'm feeling pretty good about Fin's future. Ice-T went on the record a few years back that he didn't "have any plans of going anywhere," and more recently said that he doesn't "see any reason why SVU can't go 30" seasons, as long as Mariska Hargitay wants to keep playing Olivia Benson.

The actor certainly isn't wrong about actors finding homes on other shows in the Dick Wolf TV world even if they're written out of their first. In fact, Juliana Aidén Martinez was cut from SVU after just one season with Ice-T and Co., but has been cast as a new series regular over on CBS' FBI. Kathleen Munroe's character was killed off of FBI, only for her to bring a new character to Law & Order: Organized Crime and soon debut as the new star of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent.

And that's not even to mention all of the actors who have played more than one character on SVU, including Kelli Giddish and Peter Scanavino. There are plenty of examples across SVU and the other installments in the franchise. All in all, I can't say that I can imagine Ice-T playing a different character within the Wolf universe any more than I could see it for Mariska Hargitay or Christopher Meloni, but hopefully that won't be something to worry about. Long live Fin, as far as I'm concerned!

Tune in to NBC on Thursday, September 25 at 9 p.m. ET for the Season 27 premiere of Law & Order: SVU, following the Season 25 premiere of Law & Order at 8 p.m. ET. You can also revisit earlier episodes of the shows streaming with a Peacock subscription and/or a Hulu subscription.

Law & Order: SVU has been airing for 26 seasons and counting, with Season 27 on the way in the not-too-distant future of the 2025 TV schedule. The longevity of the NBC series has meant that plenty of future film and television stars appeared as guests early on, with some even appearing in the Law & Order franchise as multiple different characters. Julie Bowen, now best known for her eleven seasons as Claire Dunphy on ABC’s Modern Family, appeared on an episode that aired back in 2008, but Law & Order’s social media accounts have been celebrating her lately. Seeing that, I’ve come to a conclusion: Bowen deserves more dramatic roles.

The franchise’s X account posted Julie Bowen’s most emotional moment from the Season 10 premiere, called “Trials” and available streaming now with a Peacock subscription and Hulu subscription. I won’t go too deeply into details here in case you want to check out the 2008 episode for yourself, but Bowen’s character confronts her husband, played by the late Luke Perry. The caption on the X post was “Julie Bowen gives a chilling and unforgettable performance,” with the Instagram account posting the same. Take a look at the clip below from the end of the episode:

Julie Bowen is only one of a surprising number of Modern Family stars who appeared on Law & Order: SVU, including two of her on-screen kids. In a fun twist (if anything about the storyline of an SVU episode can be described as fun), “Trials” aired exactly one year to the date before the series premiere of Modern Family on ABC. (The sitcom is also available streaming on Peacock and Hulu.) She debuted in SVU as Gwen Silbert on September 23, 2008, and kicked off what would be a long run as Claire Dunphy on Modern Family on September 23, 2009.

In addition to Luke Perry and Julie Bowen, the Season 10 premiere of the most successful Law & Order spinoff featured the future The Conners star Sara Gilbert. Still, due to all of those years on Modern Family followed by projects like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hysteria, and most recently, Happy Gilmore 2, Bowen is more associated with laughs than tears. From 2008 through 2025, I’m confident that most people think of comedy rather than drama from her body of work.

There’s nothing wrong with that, and she won a pair of Emmys in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work as Claire Dunphy, despite certain outlets trying to pit her against costar Sofia Vergara. I also don’t want to give the impression that Julie Bowen hasn’t dabbled in drama since 2008, but I think it would be interesting to see her working more jobs in the more serious genre. If she could do it pre-Modern Family on SVU, surely she can do it in 2025 and beyond!

Whether or not Bowen starts working on more dramas moving forward, I would agree with the Law & Order social media accounts in describing her SVU performance as “chilling and unforgettable.” I distinctly recall seeing her episode for the first time during a cable TV marathon of SVU episodes many years ago, and I could recall the plot that brought her, Luke Perry, and Sara Gilbert all to the small screen in the same episode.

Law & Order: SVU is entering its 27^th season on the 2025 TV schedule, and it’s hard to believe how long the show has been around for. The Dick Wolf drama premiered in 1999 on NBC and has become a staple on the network. Ice-T recently posted a picture from the set of Season 27, and now Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni are celebrating by recalling their first lines on the show. And their reactions are A+.

Hargitay and Meloni were the original duo on SVU, both making their debuts in the first episode of the series. They have been through a lot since then, with Meloni making the switch to his own spinoff, which is streaming with a Peacock subscription. To show just how much they have been through, the actors were asked by NBC to call their first lines ever on SVU, and it makes me love them even more:

The fact that they were both able to remember their first lines spoken after 26 years is pretty impressive. Of course, it can be assumed they have watched the pilot more than a few times over the years, but filming something that ultimately changed your life is different. It’s not surprising that they were able to remember their lines since it’s probably stuck with them, but it is fun to see their reactions to it and seeing that they were right.

There’s also the fact that Hargitay and Meloni remember the exact setup and other lines in the scene, and it’s making me want to go back and rewatch the first episode. Additionally, I love that Hargitay’s first line on SVU was literally “Olivia Benson.” It just foreshadowed how iconic she would become and how iconic she still is after all these years. Back then, they probably never knew that almost 30 years later, they’d still be playing the same characters and become two of the longest-running actors in the Law & Order franchise, and it's crazy to think about.

It helps that Hargitay and Meloni had instant chemistry when they were auditioning for SVU, which is a good thing. There’s a possibility that SVU would not have gone as long as it had if Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler were played by different actors. Luckily, fans won’t have to imagine that and will be able to look forward to hopefully more Bensler scenes in the new season of SVU and many more memorable lines.

There won’t be too much of a wait for Law & Order: SVU Season 27. It’s set to premiere on Thursday, September 25 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, following the Season 25 premiere of Law & Order. Season 5 of Law & Order: Organized Crime will be airing after SVU, bringing the spinoff back to the network after moving to Peacock for Season 5, meaning that Law & Order Thursdays are coming back this fall on NBC.

The upcoming season of Law & Order: SVU that is slated to premiere on the 2025 TV schedule will be an exciting one. Although the long-running NBC drama will be saying goodbye to two series regulars, Kelli Giddish is being brought back on full-time as Sergeant Amanda Rollins after departing during Season 24. Not much has been revealed about her return, but Giddish is sharing what she’s really looking forward to for Season 27.

Although she exited as a series regular in Season 24, Giddish has made numerous returns to SVU since then. Rollins got a job as a Sergeant for Manhattan’s Intelligence Unit, married Carisi, gave birth, and much more. So there will be a lot in her life that the show will be able to focus on again, and plenty of stories to tell. And with SVU entering Season 27 with its first female showrunner, Giddish told Extra what she’s most looking forward to with these new possibilities:

As Giddish said, Michele Fazekas was once a writer and producer on SVU, and she was responsible for one of Benson and Stabler’s most iconic episodes. So, you know that there will be some good storylines coming this season.

After 26 seasons, SVU certainly needs something fresh. Even though there’s no telling what will happen in Season 27, Giddish did tease the premiere episode, which airs on Thursday, September 25, and it sounds like fans will be in for quite a ride:

It’s hard to predict what will happen in the season premiere, but we already know that Octavio Pisano will be returning as Velasco after being cut from the cast ahead of the new season. My guess is his appearance will likely just be for the first episode to wrap up his story. Hopefully, though, it will leave a door open for his return in the future. But fans will just have to see what happens in the premiere episode.

Meanwhile, it was a pleasant surprise when it was announced that Kelli Giddish would be returning to SVU as a series regular. Her departure upset many, including some of the cast, especially since it came as a surprise. Once she started being brought back occasionally, the hope was that it would soon be full-time, and it’s so good to have her back. There will be a lot to look forward to with her and everyone else, and there’s no telling what they have planned.

With Law & Order: SVU returning next month, it shouldn’t be long until more details surrounding the premiere are revealed, but the wait will be worth it. And seeing Amanda Rollins again on a full-time basis is going to be even better. Don’t miss the Season 27 premiere of Law & Order: SVU on Thursday, September 25 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription.

Law & Order: SVU is less than two months away from returning to NBC in the 2025 TV schedule for Season 27, and attentive fans have known for a while that cast changes are coming. Kelli Giddish is returning to play Amanda Rollins as a series regular again, but two regulars were also cut: Octavio Pisano as Velasco and Juliana Aidén Martinez as Silva. Now, a behind-the-scenes video of Season 27 reveals that one of those cut stars will be back after all, but I expected somebody different.

The video features most of the returning cast members, including Peter Scanavino, Kevin Kane, Aimé Donna Kelly, and of course Mariska Hargitay to the tune of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Lockjaw." (Ice-T is missing from the video, but he confirmed his "Fd up" return for Season 27 on X.) Take a look at the surprise addition to the returning regulars:

Your eyes do not deceive you – that's Octavio Pisano present among the other SVU cast members! The actor, who was a series regular for four seasons as Detective Joe Velasco, was cut from the cast ahead of Season 27, with the expectation that the Season 26 finale was the last that we would see of him. I was okay with that, simply because Season 26 ended with the character getting a big promotion, which seemed like the natural way to send him off from Special Victims without any tragedy.

Juliana Aidén Martinez's Silva, on the other hand, didn't have an exit set up at all. Even though Season 26 was her first (and now only) as a series regular, I would have thought she'd be back for at least a brief farewell to tie up loose ends before I would have predicted Pisano as Velasco.

This doesn't mean that fans should expect Velasco back full time, however. E! News confirms that he's just coming back to wrap up Velasco's arc in the Season 27 premiere. Ultimately, it seems that SVU is giving Velasco the same treatment as Kat (Jamie Gray Hyder) and Garland (Demore Barnes) when they were cut between Seasons 22 and 23. Both actors returned for the Season 23 premiere. Somewhat ironically, Octavio Pisano's Velasco was brought in as Kat's replacement.

While NBC has not yet released any teases for what exactly the Season 27 premiere will be about with Velasco in the mix, the network did recently reveal the premiere date: Thursday, September 25 at 9 p.m. ET. The first episode of the season follows the milestone Season 25 premiere of Law & Order, which will air without Mehcad Brooks after his departure at 8 p.m. ET, and precedes Law & Order: Organized Crime in its return to NBC at 10 p.m. ET.

This isn't a case of Organized Crime being renewed for Season 6 and brought back to its old slot with new episodes after SVU, but rather NBC airing Season 5 episodes that already released on Peacock. Perhaps that's a good sign for the future of Christopher Meloni's spinoff, with OC still in the running for a renewal. In the remaining weeks before Law & Order Thursdays return, you can revisit earlier episodes streaming with a Peacock subscription.