Everything to Know About Law & Order: SVU Season 27

As one of the longest-running primetime shows, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is truly a fan favorite — and much of that is due to Mariska Hargitay's portrayal of commanding officer Olivia Benson. The unflappable police captain is capable of solving any case without even wrinkling her pantsuit. Whether she's navigating personal problems with her son or disciplining her team, she handles every situation with compassion and care. If you've been missing Olivia Benson on your TV screen, don't worry — Season 27 of the popular Dick Wolf procedural is nearly here.

With fall TV around the corner, we've gathered everything we know about Law & Order: SVU Season 27 so far, including when it will premiere, who will be in the newest season, and what to expect from the return episodes.

Everything you need for fall TV:

• The fall shows we're looking forward to most
• All the new shows coming this fall
• The ultimate guide to what to watch in September

Law & Order: SVU Season 27 cast and crew changes

Law & Order: SVU is led by a woman on screen, and now it will be led by a woman behind the scenes, too. Michele Fazekas was named showrunner of SVU, Variety announced in April. Fazekas worked as a writer and co-executive producer on the NBC show from 2001-2006. She replaces David Graziano, who had been SVU's showrunner for the past three seasons. Fazekas will be the show's first female showrunner.

Adding to the female-driven power of the show, Kelli Giddish will be returning as a series regular for Season 27. Entertainment Weekly broke the news in May, much to the relief of fans who have missed her character, Sergeant Amanda Rollins. After debuting in Season 13, she unexpectedly left the show in Season 24, but appeared as a guest star in Seasons 25 and 26.

Deadline reported in May that Octavio Pisano (Detective Joe Velasco) and Juliana Aidén Martinez (Detective Kate Silva) would be exiting SVU. The reasons for the exits weren't announced, but it seems likely it was due to NBC's cost-cutting efforts across many of its series. Although fans thought both characters would be gone for good, a July Instagram post from Mariska Hargitay shows Pisano filming a scene for the upcoming season, indicating that Velasco may get to say goodbye. (Martinez will stay in the Dick Wolf world as she joins Season 8 of FBI on CBS.)

Law & Order: SVU Season 27 release date

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 27 will premiere on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 9/8c. It will follow its predecessor, Law & Order, which will be premiering its historic Season 25 at 8/7c.

After SVU, Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) will be back with Law & Order: Organized Crime at 10/9c. This is the first time since 2022 that the spin-off will be part of the Thursday L&O fall lineup. However, these will not be new episodes. Season 5 of Organized Crime originally aired on Peacock, but the season will reair on NBC.

Law & Order: SVU will premiere live on NBC and Peacock. The episode will be available to stream on Peacock the next morning.

What will Law & Order: SVU Season 27 be about?

Although there is not yet a trailer for Season 27 of Law & Order: SVU, NBC did release a 30-second teaser, which featured brief clips of the new season. There isn't enough detail in the teaser to determine what the season may be about, but we know Season 27 will need to explain Rollins's (full-time) return and the exits of Detective Joe Velasco (Octavio Pisano) and Detective Kate Silva (Juliana Aidén Martinez). 

Additionally, we expect to see a couple of friendly faces when SVU returns. On Aug. 2, Hargitay shared images of her with her former co-star Meloni, as well as Dann Florek, who played Captain Cragen on the series for many years. The images indicate they were filming an episode for Law & Order: SVU Season 27.

Who will be in Law & Order: SVU Season 27?

Aside from guest stars, we know that Giddish will be returning as a series regular and that Pisano and Martinez will be exiting. Beyond that, we can only anticipate the following to return. 

Law & Order: SVU main cast:

• Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson
• Ice-T as Sergeant Odafin "Fin" Tutuola
• Peter Scanavino as ADA Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, Jr.
• Kelly Giddish as Sergeant Amanda Rollins
• Kevin Kane as Detective Kelly Bruno
Aimé Donna Kelly as Renee Curry

Where to watch Law & Order: SVU

All 26 seasons of Law & Order: SVU are available to stream on Hulu and Peacock with subscriptions. New episodes of Season 27 will be available on Peacock the day after it airs on NBC.