Law and Order: SVU Season 26: What to Know About Benson’s Return

Never fear, New York City is still safe in the hands of Olivia Benson as Law and Order: Special Victims Unit gears up for its 26th season.

Mariska Hargitay has played the role of Captain Benson since its 1999 premiere, and has no plans to stop saving lives on screen.

“I’m obviously not done with SVU and I have so much responsibility there still, which is keeping me artistically challenged. It’s challenging. In the meantime, I also have had these incredible moments,” Hargitay, 60, told Us Weekly exclusively in May. “I’m really happy and fulfilled with my life right now. So, we’ll see what comes. But as of right now, I’m very happy on the ride.”

The show’s milestone 25th season came to an end this past May, with Benson revisiting some of her past — and getting a few full-circle moments with past guest stars. Of course, the finale came to an end with Benson calling her longtime friend and former partner Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni).

While Benson and Stabler still aren’t an item (sorry, SVU fans), Ice-T promises there’s still a lot to come this season.

“We’re very excited about going into season 26. I think last season we caught a whole other wind of fans, and everybody got in it, and the ratings were great,” he told Us exclusively in June. “I don’t see any reason why SVU can’t go 30 [seasons].”

Keep scrolling for everything to know about SVU season 26 so far:

Who Is Returning?

Hargitay and Ice-T will be reprising their respective roles as Benson and Odafin “Fin” Tutuola.

Newer cast members, including Peter Scanavino and Octavio Pisano, will be back as ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi and Detective Joe Velasco. Aime Donna Kelly will also be back as Renee Curry.

Is Rollins Coming Back to ‘SVU’?

Nearly a month before the season 26 premiere, it was also announced that Kelli Giddish — who departed her series regular role in December 2022 — would be back as Amanda Rollins in a recurring capacity. This time around, she’ll be working with the New York Police Department’s Intelligence Unit.

SVU showrunner and executive producer David Graziano teased that she’s “going to be traveling a lot as part of that job,” during an interview with TVLine. This, of course, offers fans to see more dad Carisi.

“We’ll see Carisi and his daughter get involved in something together that they’ll kind of have to work their way out of,” Graziano teased, noting that the cast and crew is “really happy” to have Giddish back.

Are There Any New Stars?

Kevin Kane isn’t a newbie to the SVU universe, but the actor — who has been playing Terry Bruno since season 24 — has been promoted to a season regular role.

Related: Actors Who Played Multiple Roles on ‘Law & Order: SVU’

So many notable names have made guest appearances on Law & Order: SVU over the years — and some even played more than one character. Peter Scanavino appeared as Johnny Dubcek for two episodes in season 14 in 2013 before nabbing a series regular role as Detective Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. in season 16, which […]

Juliana Aidén Martinez will join SVU in the role of a new detective, Deadline reported in July.

Did They Start Filming?

Hargitay and the cast officially kicked off season 26 last month, according to photos from set. “We are so back,” the official Law and Order Instagram account shared on July 22, posting a video of a few cast members jumping into the new season.

When Does the Show Premiere?

Law and Order: SVU is set to premiere via NBC on Thursday, October 3.