Law & Order: SVU Season 27: Everything We Know So Far

Law & Order: SVU Season 26 is DUN-DUN, so you know what that means: It's time to look toward the next season of NBC's long-running procedural!

SVU's season finale didn't offer much in the way of cliffhangers or hints at what will go down at the precinct in the near future. Capt. Benson and her team investigated a case involving therapists and a man who wanted to rape and kill them, gouging out their eyes in the process. (Yes, it was as gross as it sounds.) Meanwhile, Velasco got promoted to detective second grade, an achievement that his co-workers celebrated both at a bar and at the New York Police Department's official ceremony. (Read a full recap here.)

The Peacock net renewed SVU in May, albeit with a bunch of casting and behind-the-scenes changes. So who'll be around when the squad returns for Season 27? And when can we expect that return to happen?

Read on for everything we know so far about Benson & Co.'s next chapter. We'll update this post with information about the new season as soon as it becomes available, so make sure to come back often.

Mariska Hargitay (Capt. Olivia Benson), Ice-T (Sgt. Odafin Tutuola), Kevin Kane (Det. Terry Bruno) and Peter Scanavino (Assistant District Attorney Dominick "Sonny" Carisi) will be back as series regulars next season.

In addition, Aimé Donna Kelly, who plays Capt. Renee Curry, has been promoted to series regular for Season 27.

Juliana Aidén Martinez (Det. Kate Silva) will not return for Season 27. However, Octavio Pisano — whose departure also was reported ahead of Season 27, will appear in at least the Season 27 premiere. Pisano has been part of the cast since Season 23, and Martinez joined ahead of Season 26. Neither Velasco nor Silva was written out of the story in the Season 26 finale; in fact, Velasco was promoted to detective second grade at the end of the hour. (Read a full recap.)   

No new cast members have been announced yet, but Kelli Giddish, who plays Sgt. Amanda Rollins, will once more be a series regular in the coming season. Giddish joined SVU at the start of Season 13 and left in Season 24, but recurred as Rollins in Seasons 25 and 26. Hargitay has been a vocal supporter of Giddish's full-time return. The relationship between Hargitay's Benson and Rollins "was one of the most powerful relationships in television, because you saw these two badass women, so flawed and so there for each other," Hargitay said in a 2024 interview.

Behind the scenes, Michele Fazekas (Gen V) will take over as showrunner, the role held by David Graziano in Seasons 24-26. The move marks a return to SVU for Fazekas, who — along with former writing partner Tara Butters — was a writer/producer on the show in Seasons 4 through 7.

Additionally, writer/executive producer Julie Martin and EP Norberto Barba will not return in those capacities in Season 27, though Barba will stay on as a director, our sister site Deadline reports.

Law & Order: SVU Season 27 will be released in fall 2025 and will air Thursdays at 9/8c, but NBC has not yet announced an exact premiere date. We'll update this post with that information as soon as it becomes available.

NBC hasn't yet announced how many episodes will be in Season 27. For context, most of the show's regular seasons (aka not affected by pandemics or strikes) have consisted of roughly 22 episodes.

There is not yet a trailer for the new season, but we'll be sure to post it here when there is.