New boss goes in depth on topical season 1. When Law Order Special Victims Unit returns for season 1. Chief Dodds Peter Gallagher holds Olivia Benson Mariska Hargitay personally responsible for the death of his son all while she struggles to balance still working in the field while being the boss. Watch full episodes of Law Order SVU and read episode recaps on NBC. Skt Season 3 Roster. Law and Order SVU has postponed its controversial Donald Trumpinspired episode once again. NBC released the loglines for the veteran procedural on Monday, which. Law-Order-SVU-NBC-season-14-2012.jpg' alt='Watch Svu Season 18 Episode 5' title='Watch Svu Season 18 Episode 5' />Related Articles. Law Order SVU Cancelled or Renewed for Season 19 on NBC June 2, 2017 Law Order Special Victims Unit Season 18 Ratings May 25, 2017. Behind the scenes, theres also a new leader on the long running NBC procedural. Rick Eid, who previously worked as a co executive producer on the flagship Law Order, takes over as showrunner for Warren Leight. NUP_177279_0629.jpg?itok=O8ajPlj2' alt='Watch Svu Season 18 Episode 5' title='Watch Svu Season 18 Episode 5' />But with 1. Eid isnt planning on reinventing the wheel. Its been on the air for 1. I was always a fan, but I dug back in and tried to watch as many episodes as I could, and then I tried to talk to as many people involved with this show as I could. Mariska and I started talking a lot, Julie Martin and I started talking a lot, Dick. I started hanging out on the set, even before the season wrapped. I just tried to get as much information as I possibly could, and listen to the people who made it so good and made it so powerful, and just try to absorb, and then just started thinking about it in my own head what got me excited about it and just went from there. In what ways do you think SVU is changing things this yearThings organically change. Its not like we started the season saying, We must change Law 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 Whats the new wrinkle I think its more just like, How do we continue to tell great stories, powerful stories, stories in the zeitgeist, things that matter to people that are top of mind in the best way possible Any time theres an influx of new writers, things will change organically. Having said that, our goal is to reward longtime viewers and to pick up on all the things we feel the fans have really connected with and are excited about. What makes you most nervous in taking over the show Screwing it up. Im excited, not nervous frankly, but of course you want the fans to continue to respond the way they have, so I guess the thing that makes me most nervous is disappointing the fan base. But I definitely am not approaching it from a place where Im nervous Im just trying my best to maintain the high standards that the show has had for so long. Did you get any tips from Warren Leight before he left We talked generally. 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. He was excited for me to take it, so it was more general conversations, we didnt did get into any writer or character type stuff. Julie Martin, who has been with this show as an executive producer for years, on the other hand, Ive had extensive conversations about the transition, season 1. As someone who has watched the show before, was there anything you were dying to do in season 1. The world changes so fast that there are new things that just develop, there are new stories, there are things that, believe it or not, they havent done. Theres a lot of stories were super excited about for season 1. 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. No, for me it has been just more specific about, Oh, this is a great story, it would be a perfect SVU episode, than Oh my god, Ive always thought SVU should do this story. Where are you picking up this seasonIts maybe a month or so were not super time specific, so its not like its time coded, but maybe a month or so after the death of Mike Dodds Andy Karl in season 1. 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. Michael ParmeleeNBCHow does Dodds death affect everyone Well, Benson feels responsible for it, for bringing him along on that phone call or to that domestic situation. She feels that there are probably different ways that that situation could have unfolded, that she could have protected him, it could have been her theres a lot of things as a smart police officer, and as a compassionate human being, you could lather that incident up into, Its my fault. 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 will begin to protect her team more, she certainly doesnt want to lose another member of her team, and she may be overly protective. She ultimately may try to insert herself into situations that she shouldnt, overcompensating possibly. Theres a lot there to explore for season 1. At the same time, Chief Dodds is obviously struggling with the idea that his son was just killed. He unconsciously or consciously is also struggling with the idea that Benson was there and, in his mind, possibly responsible. 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. Youll see Chief Dodds and Benson at odds over the direction of the case, and at the same time, youll see them exploring this complicated chapter in their life, the death of Mike Dodds. What does the working dynamic look this year with Olivia in charge and Fin Ice T as her reluctant No. 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 playercoach. 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. Fin is Fin, I dont think youll see a drastic change in the way he operates, I think he handles it with grace. 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. Im not really sure exactly when or how were going to introduce some new faces, but we have definitely discussed the idea of new faces or a new face on the show. But I dont know when well see that. What is the squad facing professionally this year Theyre a man down, so I think Benson is a playercoach, so shes leading and the boss, yet at the same time shes out in the street working cases. Thats a challenge, having a lot of responsibility, having a lot of accountability, and still acting as a lead detective, and being a mother, so shes got plenty of challenges on her front. In terms of the squad room, in the team theres the obvious challenges of solving these cases. I dont know if were going to play, The funding has been cut, and any sort of new idea of external challenge or force or being shorthanded. The challenges are just its a tricky world out there today, theres a lot of guys and people doing bad things and theyre trying to keep the streets safe. I dont think youre going to see a lot of new external forces presenting challenges were not going to play into that. 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. Benson, I think shes a complicated, smart woman, and ultimately the relationship with Tucker will be a complicated relationship. They both want this to work out and we will see if it does. Its two people who have seen a lot in their careers and in their life, and theyre trying to find a common ground and a way to make it work. But its just a question of can these two people whove seen what theyve seen, connect in a way that they can ride off into the sunset Well see, were going to explore that. The Good Fight is doing an episode about SVUs Trump episode. Club. The Kings are taking on Dick Wolf and Donald Trump at the same time. Variety reports that Sundays The Good Fight will feature a case involving a television episode about a Trump like characters alleged sexual assault that never makes it to air. Naturally, that calls to mind the pulled Law Order SVU also about a Trump like character accused of such crimes. Co creator Michelle King insists that the episode is really more about the president than it is about CBS rival network NBC. And the fact that it was delayed not once, but twice. Still, Variety notes that one Good Fight character refers to the fictional TV series as one of those Chicago shows, which is as good a Wolf dig as weve ever heard.