26 Years After Premiering, Network TV’s Longest Running Police Procedural Is Back in Session for Season 27
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is officially back in production for Season 27. The police procedural returns as the longest current running police procedural. Captain Olivia Benson herself, Mariska Hargitay took to Instagram to show fans a glimpse into the 16th Precinct for the new season. It comes with some changes, as Aimé Donna Kelly was just recently bumped to series regular and the return of Kelli Giddish as a series regular. The series also has its first female showrunner, Michele Fazekas, who served as a writer and executive producer from seasons 3 through 7.
Hargitay’s video peeled back the curtain on a scene for the upcoming season featuring Peter Scanavino, Kevin Kane, and Kelly. She took the video into the scene, filming as dialogue was rehearsed until someone off screen asked to talk. Not seen was Giddish but maybe this case brings her Sgt. Amanda Rollins and things go from there.
What To Expect for Season 27 of ‘SVU’
In addition to the change in cast, which also includes the exits of Juliana Aiden Martinez and Octavio Pisano there were also behind the scenes changes. Previously mentioned, SVU now has its first female showrunner with Fazekas replacing David Graziano. It’s not known if Graziano is staying on in a producing or writing role. Exiting is longtime writer Julie Martin. Norberto Barba is also exiting as a writer, but is expected to stay on as a director. No new writers have been announced, so it’s unclear if the behind the scenes team overall is paring down.
Fazekas brings to SVU as showrunner experience behind some of the earlier seasons best episodes including “Rage,” “Fault,” and “9-1-1” as a writer and an executive producer. Those episodes proved pivotal in interpersonal relationships and character development, particularly of Hargitay’s Olivia Benson as well as Christopher Meloni’s Elliot Stabler (who now is on his own show Law & Order: Organized Crime). With an astonishing lack of character development in Season 26, Fazekas brings the prospect of a breath of fresh air to the characters. A standout of Season 26, “Let Me Bring Pardon” involved the parallel narrative of Benson seeking forgiveness at her mother’s gravesite, as the product of a rape while the team investigated a an assault that resulted in a pregnancy for a comatose patient. If Fazekas can bring back that 1.0 and replicate episodes like that, Season 27 may be the best season in a long while for the long running police procedural.