Benson’s guilt, new faces and… a Stabler return?
Behind the scenes, theres also a new leader on the long-running NBC procedural.
But with 17 seasons under the shows belt, Eid isnt planning on reinventing the wheel.
Credit: NBC
RICK EID:Its challenging.
I started hanging out on the set, even before the season wrapped.
In what ways do you thinkSVUis changing things this year?
Michael Parmelee/NBC
Its not like we started the season saying, We must changeLaw & Order: SVU!
The shows great and successful and we just want to keep doing great, high-quality work.
So there was never, How do we change things up?
Peter Kramer/NBC
Whats the new wrinkle?
Any time theres an influx of new writers, things will change organically.
What makes you most nervous in taking over the show?
Michael Parmelee/NBC
[Laughs] Thats a joke.
Did you get any tips from Warren Leight before he left?
We didnt get into specifics in any way about like, Heres how you make the show.
This is what I wouldnt do.
We talked generally about the show and the transition and he was excited that thered be new eyes.
Theres a lot of stories were super excited about for season 18.
I dont know if theyve been necessarily done before or to what capacity theyve been before.
I wouldnt say it was like, Oh my god, Im dying to do a show about X.
Where are you picking up this season?
That is still weighing heavily on the SVU team and certainly the character of Benson.
We pick up from there.
Its not the day after, some time has passed, but obviously the tragedy has not passed.
So we pick up emotionally from that place.
How does Dodds death affect everyone?
Benson, as a character, is that compassionate and complex, and shes feeling responsible.
Throughout the season, we will see some of that responsibility and guilt.
She ultimately may make a run at insert herself into situations that she shouldnt, overcompensating possibly.
Theres a lot there to explore for season 18 in terms of character psychological arc for her.
At the same time, Chief Dodds is obviously struggling with the idea that his son was just killed.
So youre going to see some tension between those two.
Certainly in the first episode, youll see a lot of tension between those two.
Its a big [episode], its an exciting and emotional and very topical [episode].
Its more about shes in charge, but shes still in the field and acting as a detective.
We refer to her internally here as a player/coach.
Shes the boss, shes responsible, but she is not behind a desk all day.
Fin is her No.
2 and theyve got a long history together and that implicit trust between each other.
You wont see a huge shift there in the way that Fin does business frankly.
Will we see some new members joining the squad?
We may see new members.
Yeah, we may see some new cast members.
But I dont know when well see that.
What is the squad facing professionally this year?
In terms of the squad room, in the team theres the obvious challenges of solving these cases.
On the personal side, whats the state of Tucker (Robert John Burke) and Olivias relationship?
It almost seemed like he was going to prpose in the finale.
They both want this to work out and we will see if it does.
Well see, were going to explore that.
Will her self-medication be addressed this season?
I dont know if we will explicitly address it.
Given what was going on last season, that may have been her way to medicate and cope.
Its unclear if, this season, shell cope or medicate the same way.
What will see for Rollins (Kelli Giddish) this season?
Rollins has a child.
Well continue to dig into her personal life as the season progresses.
But the main thing in the works right now is exploring her relationship with her sister.
What about her relationship with Carisi (Peter Scanavino)?
It seemed there mightve been something brewing with them.
Theyve got a great relationship, that dynamic continues and well explore the possibility of that becoming something more.
We may see that and we may not [Laughs].
After passing the bar exam, will we see Carisi switching over to the other side?
Yeah, hes exploring that.
Thats something hes trying to figure out.
Benson is aware of it and the other team members are aware of it and are supportive.
Whatever you want to do.
But he, for the moment, continues to be a member of the SVU team as a detective.
Whats next for Barba (Raul Esparza)?
Hes got some interesting cases.
Hes exploring a lot of challenging issues.
Its an interesting topic in the legal world.
Basically if you fraudulently induce someone to have sex, is that a crime?
What ripped-from-the-headlines storylines will you be exploring?
Will you be doing a Donald Trump one?
Our season premiere is unfortunately very topical, it got more and more topical.
It was inspired by, originally, the San Bernardino mass shooting.
We start with a mass-shooting incident that may or may not be a terrorist activity.
We think thats a really exciting opening episode thats unfortunately quite topical.
Our second episode is inspired by the Netflix documentaryMaking a Murderer.
Its possible we will explore some of zeitgeist political-themed episode involving an iconoclastic candidate.
Are you planning any crossovers with theChicagoshows?
We dont have anything.
Do you hope to get any other familiar faces back this season?
We will definitely have a lot of the rotating cast of defense lawyers.
Liz Marvel appears in episode 1, shes great.
You never know who is going to pop through the door.
Well have some interesting guest stars and we may have a new face on the show as well.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unitreturns Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m.
