The squad is growing in Law & Order: SVU Season 26.
The NBC drama is back filming in New York, and after being short-staffed in Season 25, it looks like Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) is going to have some fresh blood to help solve these sexually based crimes.
Read on for everything we know about SVU Season 26, from the cast to the premiere date to potential crossovers with Organized Crime.
Did SVU Season 25 end on a cliffhanger?
No, it did not. Rather, the finale ended with Benson talking to Stabler (Christopher Meloni) about how she passed along the compass necklace he gave her to someone else who needed it; he understood.
When will SVU Season 26 premiere?
Law & Order: SVU will continue airing Thursdays at 9/8c, with the premiere on October 3. It will once again follow Law & Order, but with Organized Crime moving to Peacock, Found will close out NBC’s night.
Who’s in the SVU Season 26 cast?
Hargitay is, of course, back as Benson. Also returning are Ice-T (Sergeant Odafin “Fin” Tutuola), Peter Scanavino (ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi), and Octavio Pisano (Detective Joe Velasco). Aime Donna Kelly (Captain Renee Curry), who recurred in Season 25, is also back, as photos of the cast filming have revealed. Kevin Kane, who has recurred as Detective Terry Bruno, has been promoted to series regular, and Juliana Aidén Martinez will play a new detective, according to Deadline.
What do we know about SVU Season 26’s plot?
Nothing as of yet.
Will there be any crossovers with Organized Crime?
If it’s up to Hargitay, there will be! But with Organized Crime moving to Peacock, unless episodes are released on Fridays or still at 10/9c on Thursdays (most streaming shows are released at midnight PT), it does make it seem difficult to truly deliver a seamless crossover like has been done in the past.
But Hargitay told Variety in May she’s still “planning on” crossovers. “I just told him the other day. We had a party the other night, we saw each other. It was heavenly. I met his showrunner. They want us together, and Chris and I were talking about it, and it’s time. It’s time now for us. This was a long time not being in each other’s universe. That’s why we did the calls and stuff like that,” she explained. (She was referring to what was shown during the 2023-2024 season, including in SVU‘s finale.) “But we’re excited to get back in there, get back in the ring.”
And during a panel at ATX Festival in May, Erin Underhill, President of NBCUniversal Television didn’t rule crossovers out either (via Parade). “I think Benson and Stabler in particular is a relationship that people care about,” Underhill said. “We know that when we do something, specifically with [Organized Crime] and SVU, it’s bold. It’s a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of preparation, a lot of money, but it is something that delivers every time. So we do plan to do more of that.”
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