Law & Order: SVU has its new boss for the upcoming 24th season (the last of a three-year pickup from February 2020).
David Graziano, who most recently co-created, wrote, and executive produced Coyote on CBS All Access in 2021 (premiering months before the rebranding to Paramount+), is the new showrunner, according to Deadline. Warren Leight, who served as showrunners for Seasons 13 to 17 then returned in Season 21, announced in May he’d be leaving at the end of the latest season.
“The last two years of show running during a pandemic have been arduous, and I’ve decided to take a break,” he explained as Season 23 reached its final day of filming before thanking the cast, crew, and fans.
Mariska Hargitay, who has starred on SVU since the beginning and is also an executive producer, then thanked him for his “heart and soul” in a series of tweets. “That’s what you gave us every day. Thank you for your nuance, finesse, depth of knowledge and tender, masterful artistry. … What you managed and crowded into the bandwidth of your magnificent brain during these years is nothing short of heroic.”
SVU also stars Ice T, Kelli Giddish, Peter Scanavino, and Octavio Pisano. The latest season ended with things still tense between Hargitay’s Captain Olivia Benson and Rafael Barba (Raúl Esparza) after she felt betrayed by him defending Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott) earlier in the season. Fans were left to wonder just how Barba defined “unconditional love” in their last conversation. In happier news, Detective Amanda Rollins (Giddish) and ADA Sonny Carisi (Scanavino) are still going strong.
In addition to Graziano, Dick Wolf, Julie Martin, Hargitay, Norberto Barba, Ken Brown, Arthur Forney, and Peter Jankowski are executive producers on the NBC drama. Heading into SVU, Graziano’s TV credits also include executive producing and writing Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, What/If, and American Gods.
Law & Order: SVU, Season 24 Premiere, TBA, NBC