Some big renewals came down yesterday for all of super producer Dick Wolf's NBC shows. Without us getting anywhere near season finale time, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago P.D. and the long-running Law & Order: SVU each got three more seasons. This means that we can now look forward to watching Olivia Benson and her team at the Special Victims Unit catch bad guys through Season 24. As you might imagine, the cast and crew are quite excited to be able to keep bringing the drama to audiences, and Mariska Hargitay and more of her fellow TV crime fighters have responded to the good news.
Law & Order: SVU already came in for a record-breaking Season 21 when the show got renewed for this season. The police drama is now the longest-running primetime live-action series in TV history, and it looks like it'll be holding on to that record for quite a while with this new three season renewal. SVU star Mariska Hargitay took the time yesterday, after the news broke, to celebrate by heading to Twitter and thanking some of the good people who work hard behind the scenes to make sure fans get the stories they want:
In case you're not aware, Peter Blauner is a writer who's been helping craft episodes of Law & Order: SVU since 2012, while Jean de Segonzac is a director who's been behind the camera for 44 episodes of the series, starting with the first season, all the way back in 1999. So, it's pretty clear that the current success of the show does owe a big debt to these two, just as much as on-screen talent like Mariska Hargitay.
Showrunner Warren Leight has also been a part of the SVU family for a long time, having served as showrunner from Seasons 13-17, and then coming back to the position for the current, record-breaking season. He also took to Twitter after news of the renewal came down and had some special thanks for the fans:
Warren Leight is completely correct that the fans are always the biggest reason why any show manages to stick around as long as Law & Order: SVU has, and will continue to. While Season 21 was already a major win for the series, getting through Season 24 will mean that the chances of another show catching up to it and breaking that record will be way more difficult. Though, I'm sure that shows like NCIS and Grey's Anatomy are game to try!
While the only original cast member from Law & Order: SVU's debut season to remain with the series is Mariska Hargitay (who has said that she's willing to stick with the show for 25 years), someone who's been around almost as long is Ice-T, who joined the cast in Season 2 as Odafin "Fin" Tutuola. He also posted his reaction to the massive renewal, and used a light touch to express his feelings:
Don't worry, Ice, a lot of our minds are blown, too! He also took out the time to say a special thanks to the man for whom all this has been possible, Dick Wolf:
Awww! Isn't that lovely? One of the newer additions to the cast, Peter Scanavino, who joined in Season 16 as detective (now ADA) Dominick Carisi, was so taken aback by the news of Law & Order: SVU's three season renewal that he didn't have proper words to express himself, either:
Sometimes a few exclamation marks and a retweet is all you can manage when the new is really good, right? The only drawback to all these renewals for fans might be that they delay the reappearance of Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler even more. But, we take what we can get, I suppose.
Right now, Law & Order: SVU is still in the midst of Season 21, but taking a bit of a break with new episodes until March 19. But, you can still catch up with the show Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST on NBC.
