Law & Order: SVU season 26 will come to an end this week, and it means the end of the road for two characters. The big question is whether the two will get exit storylines or not.
In some good news, Law & Order: SVU season 27 is happening. This isn’t all that surprising considering the news that the series will get its first female showrunner, but it did come after the surprising exits of two series regulars.
Who will leave Law & Order: SVU?
Juliana Martinez and Octavio Pisano will both leave Law & Order: SVU after season 26. Martinez only just joined the series this season as Kate Silva, while Pisno joined as Velasco in season 23.
As of right now, there’s no word on why the two are leaving. Deadline suggested both creative and financial reasons, and that continues to feel like a possibility. We’re leaning more on the financial side of things, especially with the exit of Martinez. We know the show is among those that needs to trim its budget, and the easiest way to do that is to write out two main characters.
Are exit arcs in store in Law & Order: SVU season 26?
Now for the biggest question: will we see exit storylines? The Dick Wolf universe has a bad habit of not bringing major exit storylines for characters, whether they’ve been around for a few years or just one. We can look at how the flagship series handled the loss of Kate Dixon after season 23.
One of the plus notes is that we’ve found out the two are leaving before the season is up. This could mean a mention of where they are going in the finale, seeing them actually ride off into the sunset — whether together or not. That’s not the usual way of things, though, and we’ll probably find out the reason for the exits in the season 27 premiere.
Mariska Hargitay, Ice T, Peter Scanavino, and Kevin Kane are expected to return in the new season. When announcing the renewals of both NBC Law & Order shows, Deadline did note that not all cast members had negotiated contracts for the new season, but didn’t say who and which show was mostly involved.
We're fully expecting Hargitay back. After all, there isn't Law & Order: SVU without Captain Olivia Benson.
Law & Order: SVU airs on Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
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