The Law & Order world will return to the 2025 TV schedule in the aftermath of the two-part crossover that combined the original series and Law & Order: SVU for the first time in several years. The stakes were higher than usual, with a series of murders and sexual assaults vicious enough to require the talents of two different units and a case that hit close to home for Captain Olivia Benson.
It was also a huge case for ADA Nolan Price on the legal side of the situation, and Hugh Dancy opened up to CinemaBlend about Price's speech to Mariska Hargitay’s character… and he quoted a bit of the iconic SVU opening narration in the process.
Price Confronted Benson In The Crossover
When I spoke with the Hannibal alum, I’d already seen the two crossover episodes, which are both available streaming now with a Peacock subscription. Price had a number of big scenes in the event, including trying the case before a jury, but the moment that really stood out to me was when he had the unenviable task of advising Benson that she should recuse herself after the dirty cop killer went after her son to try and intimidate her. Price told her:
I want you to know that I am on your side here. Paul Gomez is a man who swore to protect and serve, and he did the exact opposite, and you are not the only one who is infuriated by that.
Considering that Price was the closest person there to an unbiased party, it was a big statement to make to Benson and seemed to win him some begrudging points with her. SVU's ADA Carisi was a bit more placating toward his longtime friend than Law & Order’s ADA was, and it made for such an interesting dynamic that I had to get Hugh Dancy's thoughts on what it says about his character.
Hugh Dancy Weighs In
While Hugh Dancy was part of the previous crossover event back in 2022 that also included Law & Order: Organized Crime, Price had a bigger part to play this time. When I asked for his take on Price’s speech about being “infuriated” by Lt. Gomez’s double life as a murderer and rapist, Dancy ended up quoting part of the SVU opening narration. He said:
I think he absolutely would [be furious]. Price has a pretty strong moral code, a very strong moral code, and I think on a personal level, he would be. Obviously these crimes are heinous that we're describing, so that alone is reason for disgust, but the specific nature of the betrayal involved, is betrayal of the position. They're all public servants, so that's a meaningful thing.
Do I think that Hugh Dancy was deliberately quoting the “In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous” line from SVU’s opening narration? Not really, but “heinous” certainly applies to both the sexually-based crossover case and the kinds of cases that Price generally prosecutes on Law & Order, even sometimes leading to unsatisfying endings.
It’s also not unprecedented for his character’s personal feelings to overlap into his approach to a case, including what Dancy previously referred to as Price’s “pride in himself.” He went on to address the fine line the ADA was walking in the crossover when it came to his personal feelings vs. objectivity in the courtroom:
For Price, it's important that he knows that his own fury or disgust is only valuable to the extent that he will choose to display it to the jury when it helps his case. When it's helpful in his opening argument to try and elicit the same feelings of disgust from them, then he'll do it. But when it's necessary to be dry and think about procedure and process, he'll do that. And that's what he's trying to say to [Benson]. Like, 'Yes, I feel exactly the same way, and now I'm going to put it for one side. I'm going to carry on with my job.'
Honestly, for as much as Law & Order is a procedural TV show, there are serialized elements to it, and I’m going to be watching Price with a closer eye towards what he chooses to show and what he works to conceal in front of a jury. It might even come across differently after viewers saw Price and Carisi joining forces with their slightly different approaches.
Hugh Dancy only had good things to say about the “enjoyable” experience of working with Peter Scanavino as his SVU counterpart when they “hadn’t crossed paths at all” beforehand. He went on about Scanavino and SVU:
[I was] getting to see and understand more about how that show works, just on a day to day basis, which, of course, is very similar in some ways. We're all in the same universe, but every crew finds their own rhythms, and I saw the way that Mariska and Peter kind of engage and enjoy working with their crew. And then in a storyline way, I like the fact that Price and Carisi are coming from slightly different places. You know, he's a dear old friend of Benson's, so maybe he's not going to be the one that tells her she needs to recuse herself, exactly, but legally we're both trying to make the case that we need to not let personal feelings get in the way of constructing a strong case.
Law & Order and SVU likely won’t be crossing over again any time soon, and NBC technically hasn’t officially renewed either show for the 2025-2026 TV season yet, although SVU landing a new showrunner is certainly a good sign for that series. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on characters in the wake of the two-parter to see if they come across any differently after the juxtaposition with SVU.
Both shows are taking the week off on April 24, but Law & Order and SVU will be back on Thursday, May 1 in their usual 8 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET time slots on NBC. You can also revisit past episodes streaming on Peacock.
As for the third current show in the franchise, Law & Order: Organized Crime is now back and “more realistic” than ever, according to one star, and not everything is going to be as funny as Christopher Meloni’s “most unsexy pickup line you can imagine.” Peter Scanavino weighed in on what Carisi might be like on OC; I for one would love to see Price on the streaming series as well.
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