Law & Order: SVU Returns for 25th Season with Emotional Premiere

Law & Order: SVU opened its landmark 25th season by celebrating the christening of Rollins and Carisi’s baby. And, of course, that happy moment was counterbalanced by a nightmare of a case – the disappearance of a teenage girl in broad daylight.

The NBC series, along with its Law & Order siblings and three Chicago dramas, were among the first scripted series to return to the air after the end of strikes by writers and actors. Peter Jankowski, president and COO of Wolf Entertainment and an executive producer of all six shows, emphasized that getting up and running quickly was a priority for their team.

Arthur Forney, who heads postproduction at Wolf Entertainment and is also an EP on all of its shows, expressed how enthusiastic their team was to return to work. The season premiere opened with a montage of Olivia Benson over the course of the series, reflecting on why she does the job as she attends the baptism. Meanwhile, a teenage girl goes missing and Olivia becomes obsessed with finding her.

Forney and Jankowski have both been with Wolf Entertainment since day one of SVU and credit Mariska Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson, for setting the tone and bringing an emotional energy to the show. The investigation leads to a truly creepy place and doesn’t resolve within the hour, making the episode indelible in the show’s long history.

Law & Order: SVU returns for its 25th season, making it the longest-reigning character in primetime TV. Mariska Hargitay leads the ensemble cast, including Ice-T and Peter Scanavino, as an empathetic advocate for sexual assault survivors. The close-knit cast considers themselves a family, with a strong sense of trust and camaraderie.