Law and Order: SVU will pass the quarter-century mark when Season 25 releases on the air soon.
Originally spinning off from Law and Order back in 1999, Mariska Hargitay’s series focused on the Special Victims Unit now stands as the longest-running scripted spin-off in U.S. history.
Hargitay continues her run on the show as Captain Olivia Benson alongside Ice-T’s Fin Tutuola as they investigate heinous sexual crimes in New York City, with changes being seen in each new season.
Law & Order: SVU Season 25 Sees New Release Update
Deadline shared that Law and Order: SVU Season 25 officially opened up the doors to its writers' room starting the week of October 2 following the conclusion of the writers’ strike.
This comes along with the same news for Law and Order Season 23 and FBI Season 6.
The big question now is when exactly Season 25 will hit the air, particularly when taking into account that the SAG-AFTRA strike is still in effect.
Seasons 23 and 24 both had about four months between the end of one season and the start of the next, likely meaning that Season 25 will take about the same amount of time to develop.
Should the actors’ strike end by the conclusion of 2023, it would be expected that Law & Order: SVU Season 25 would be released sometime in Spring 2024, potentially in March or April.
Who Will Return for Law & Order: SVU Season 25?
As of writing, the only two cast members confirmed to be returning for Law and Order: SVU’s 25th season are Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T, who both have over 500 episodes of work under their belts already.
While Christopher Meloni has come back in a recurring role as the show’s original lead, Elliot Stabler, in the last three seasons, he’s now leading his own separate spin-off, Law & Order: Organized Crime. This should keep him quite busy, although he could be seen in a recurring role again just as he was during Organized Crime’s first two seasons.
Additionally, Dan Florek’s Captain Craven is now in retirement after Season 21 while the late Richard Belzer took his own exit after Season 16, leaving the series with a number of newer stars leading the way.
In Season 24, Kelli Gillish’s Amanda Rollins left the series seemingly for good, with the only other stars appearing consistently being Peter Scanavino’s Sonny Carisi and Octavio Pisano’s Joe Velasco.
On top of the cast, there’s a chance that Season 25 may be reduced in length for scheduling purposes after 22 of the first 24 seasons included between 20 and 25 episodes.
Of course, nothing is set in stone until the actors’ strike is over, although fans will be curious to see how this legacy series continues when New York City takes the spotlight again.
All 24 seasons of Law & Order: SVU are currently streaming on both Peacock and Hulu.
