‘Law & Order’: Christopher Meloni explains Mariska Hargitay friendship
“Law & Order: Organized Crime” star Christopher Meloni chats with USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa about the friendship he has with Mariska Hargitay.
A few detectives will be clocking out after the upcoming “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” season finale.
Octavio Pisano and Juliana Aidén Martinez will not return for Season 27, a person with knowledge of the situation who was unauthorized to speak publicly confirmed to USA TODAY on May 7. The Season 26 finale for “SVU” (Thursdays at 8 p.m. on NBC) is due May 15.
Deadline was first to report the news.
Pisano has been with the show since his 2021 debut as undercover officer Detective Joe Velasco. Martinez’s Det. Kate Silva was a new addition this season.
Silva’s on-screen debut in 2024 saw her befriending Velasco, and the two went on to join forces with Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) to address a hostage situation involving ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi (Peter Scanavino).
Martinez also appeared in the “Law & Order” crossover episode alongside Hargitay, Scanavino, Kevin Kane (Det. Terry Bruno), and Reinaldo Faberlle (Lt. Paul Gomez) in April.
In his four seasons, Velasco has busted sex-trafficking rings, helped victims of sex crimes and gotten to the bottom of a revenge-for-hire enterprise on the dark web.
TV’s longest-running primetime drama, which began with “Law & Order’s” premiere in 1990, has not yet been officially renewed for a 27th season.
Even after more than two decades as Olivia Benson, Hargitay said at the franchise’s 25th anniversary celebration in 2024 that she was still “sort of madly in love with the experience of playing this character.”
“There’s such intimacy in this group of people that only builds over a long period of time,” she told USA TODAY. “Such mad respect, but also such love, and everyone has an incredible sense of humor, and there’s so much trust and freedom, that it’s a magnificent experience.”
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