Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 17)
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 17) | |
|---|---|
Season 17 U.S. DVD cover
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| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 23, 2015 – May 25, 2016 |
| Season chronology | |
The seventeenth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit debuted on Wednesday, September 23, 2015 on NBC, and concluded on Wednesday, May 25, 2016.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was renewed for a seventeenth season on February 5, 2015, by NBC.Mariska Hargitay (Olivia Benson) had her contract renewed for season 17, as well as Ice-T (Det. Fin Tutuola). It was announced in March 2015 that season seventeen would be show runner/executive producer Warren Leight's last season on the show; he signed a three-year deal with Sony Pictures Television, his contract allowing him to work on SVU for one final season. Production on season seventeen started in late May 2015 on the two-hour season premiere, afterwards the cast and crew took a hiatus and resumed filming on August 21, 2015. Executive producer Leight shared via Twitter that star Mariska Hargitay would be directing an episode this season as well, tweeting "Of course Mariska will direct again this year. After 17 seasons, she's in a class of her own." The episode in question turned out to be "A Misunderstanding", which aired on January 20, 2016. Hargitay would also later direct "Sheltered Outcasts", which aired on March 30.
It was announced at the end of the sixteenth season that star Danny Pino (who portrayed Detective Nick Amaro) would be departing the cast; however, the producers did not kill off his character and left availability for him to return to the show. Leight said to The Hollywood Reporter on character departures, "I try to leave that door open. I would like to be able to bring him [Pino] back. At this point, it depends on where he is and what he's doing and what the story needs. That's one of the advantages of not killing a character that you like." Warren Leight told TV Guide that season seventeen's theme would focus on change and transitions whereas last season (the sixteenth) focused on family; "it should be a year where wherever everyone starts at the beginning of the [season] is not where they end." Leight added that more character development would be in store for Raul Esparza's ADA Barba and Peter Scanavino's Det. Carisi, as well as Benson (Hargitay) being promoted to Lieutenant.
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