Why Legislation and Order: SVU Modified Issues Up for Benson and Carisi in Season 21

Legislation & Order: SVU began its history-making season 21 with some massive modifications. Warning, spoilers observe for the Thursday, Sept. 26 episode titled “I am Going to Make You a Star.”

Yep, returning collection showrunner Warren Leight wasn’t kidding when he promised massive modifications have been coming to the longest-running drama on TV. Detective Dominick “Sonny” Carisi? Not a detective. Viewers met ADA Carisi (Peter Scanavino) within the season premiere. Lt. Olivia Benson? Not a lieutenant. She’s Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) now.

So, why all the massive modifications? “Thematically, it is a 12 months about passages and modifications. I do not suppose no one at the beginning of the season might be in the identical place on the finish of the season,” Leight advised us forward of the premiere. “Folks’s titles will change, folks’s roles within the squad room will change, folks’s home life—turning 21 is a serious passage in life, so it must be for the present as effectively. Hopefully, the particular victims unit will nonetheless be up and operating by the tip of the season, however folks will undergo plenty of private modifications, I feel.”

Get the within scoop on the massive modifications beneath.

NBC

Captain Benson
Leight stated the promotion for Benson got here at a price. Dodds was faraway from his place, however made it so Benson was taken care of in his absence. “So, it is a promotion for her, however with an emotional price as effectively, as a result of I simply suppose that is how issues work. However she’s the captain now,” Leight stated.

Viewers can anticipate to see Benson and the brand new bureau chief come into battle early this season. “She and Dodds have been fairly cozy, however her workplace had like 185 photos of Noah, she’s the captain now and totally different folks might be visiting her workplace now, so she’s going to should take out 183 of these photos of Noah,” Leight teased. “It is at all times tough when you could have a brand new boss, so we’ll be seeing a number of new bosses within the season, not only for her, however over within the district legal professional’s workplace, we’ll get some turnover there.”

Some followers have been essential over Benson’s lack of affection life on the collection, equating a relationship to happiness. However being in a relationship is not the be-all and end-all for folks.

ADA Carisi
Leight stated Carisi put himself by means of legislation college whereas working as a detective, so why would not he pursue a legislation profession? “He is good, he is bought a authorized thoughts. I feel he is feeling somewhat, ‘Is that this all there’s? Is that this it?’…I feel he thought by now he’d be married, I feel he thought he was a unique path than he ended up on. He bought somewhat caught,” Leight stated.

With ADA Stone (Philip Winchester) out, Leight stated Carisi seized the chance introduced to him. “It is form of like, if I do not do it now, I am by no means going to do it. I feel he does it with remorse… A cop at all times has his gun and now he does not. That may come again, most likely to hang-out him, in some unspecified time in the future this season,” Leight teased.

Anticipate Carisi’s exit to open up the squad room to new blood. Leight defined the true NYPD’s particular victims unit tends to get white shields, cops who wish to be detectives however aren’t skilled but, so NBC’s SVU could introduce some rotating new faces in that respect.

“What does it do once you take an skilled detective out of a small unit? It form of throws all people off somewhat bit. What does it do for Carisi? It provides him somewhat problem. However he is not prepared at the beginning of the season to go in there and go all Barba on folks, he is bought to earn his shot to get a giant case. We put him by means of the ropes actually the primary eight or 9 episodes of the season. He is doing grunt work within the DA’s workplace below a boss who’s not overly empathic,” Leight previewed.

Click on play on the video above to listen to from Scanavino about his character’s new gig.

Legislation & Order: SVU airs Thursdays, 10 p.m. on NBC.

(E! and NBC are each a part of the NBCUniversal household.)