Law & Order: SVU normally would have been approaching its midseason finale by this point in the fall, but 2023 has been a different story due to the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike. Both were resolved by early November thanks to a historic deal, and many of the biggest shows on television are finally moving forward for the 2024 TV season. This includes SVU, and leading lady is celebrating the upcoming 25th anniversary with some fun set photos to get us even more hyped!
Fortunately, Season 24 ended on a crossover with Law & Order: Organized Crime, with OC already not expected to return until 2024, so there was no cliffhanger for fans to fret over for the better part of the year due to the strikes. Still, Mariska Hargitay's photo with her quite literally behind the camera opposite Ice-T makes it feel quite real that Olivia Benson and Fin Tutuola are really coming back. Take a look:
Mariska Hargitay directed a standout episode of Season 24 that featured The West Wing alum Bradley Whitford (and stands up on rewatch), so this pic certainly isn't the first time that she's been behind the camera in recent seasons. I'm guessing that she's not directing the premiere of the 25th anniversary season, but it's a great BTS shot.
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes meant that the 2024 TV season was still in question as recently as early November. As expected early on, SVU began production after the Thanksgiving holiday on Season 25 and will reportedly run for thirteen episodes. That's considerably shorter than the usual 20+ episodes per season, but it was reported as far back as September that the soonest shows could realistically return would be early 2024.
With SVU returning in January, fans can celebrate not having to wait too long into the new year, which isn't the case for the many new series that were pushed back all the way to fall 2024. Plus, another pic from Mariska Hargitay shows her celebrating the milestone season with costar Peter Scanavino:
Scanavino looks happy to be posing with Mariska Hargitay and kicking off Season 25, with both stars in costume on and set of SVU. The wedding ring on his finger is also a crumb for fans of the Rollisi relationship as a reminder that Carisi and Rollins tied the knot in Season 24 and were expecting a baby by the finale.
Of course, fans are going to get a lot more than just a crumb in the Season 25 premiere, as Kelli Giddish is reprising her role as Rollins after appearing in the Season 24 finale. It's not known if she could appear in more of Season 25 than just the premiere, but Mariska Hargitay was dancing with Giddish on set in a very fun and very un-Benson kind of way! Take a look:
I doubt that we'll ever get Captain Olivia Benson dancing to Paul Russell's "Lil Boo Thang" in an episode of SVU, so let's just enjoy the BTS peek at the actresses having fun! Kelli Giddish commented on Mariska Hargitay's post, writing:
so happy to be back and play for a little bit! 😍
The "a little bit" part of Giddish's comment makes me think that viewers shouldn't get their hopes up too high for a full-time return of Amanda Rollins, even in the wake of SVU saying goodbye to its only female series regular playing a detective under Benson with the departure of Molly Burnett as Grace Muncy.
Mariska Hargitay also used her Instagram account to celebrate along with fans by reposting on her Stories (which have since expired). Here's one:
Talk about a blast from the past to see the fan post a pic of Season 1 Olivia Benson next to Season 24 Olivia Benson! A whole lot has changed on SVU since the pilot aired almost a quarter century ago, but Mariska Hargitay has been the rock for the hit series all along at 24 seasons and counting. "Badass Benson" is right!
And would it really be a celebration of SVU coming back if Elliot Stabler didn't get a shout out, after how Season 24 ended? Take a look:
The "compass" mention is in reference to the necklace that Stabler gave to Benson at the end of the finale crossover event back in the spring, when it seemed like the duo were finally back on great terms with each other. It was also the closest thing that either SVU or Organized Crime delivered as a non-messy step toward romance (unlike the near-miss kiss months earlier in the year). I haven't been on board any kind of Benson/Stabler ship other than friendship for a long time, but I'm always invested in seeing more of the two characters on screen together.
Whether Law & Order: SVU, Organized Crime, and/or the original Law & Order are able to pull off any kind of crossover in their shortened upcoming seasons remains to be seen, but at least the wait isn't too much longer. All three shows will return to NBC on Thursday, January 18, starting with L&O at 8 p.m. ET, SVU at 9 p.m. ET, and OC at 10 p.m. ET. For now, you can always revisit earlier episodes of the franchise streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
