Mariska Hargitay is keeping busy between seasons of Law & Order: SVU. Just 12 days after the Season 27 finale aired, on May 26, she’s getting started on stage, with her Broadway debut, Every Brilliant Things. She’s starring in the solo show for six weeks (Daniel Radcliffe previously starred, and Tracee Ellis Ross debuts on July 7). Then, soon after that, she’ll be back playing Captain Olivia Benson with the start of production on Season 28 of the hit NBC drama.
While talking to People about her Broadway debut, she touched on her future on the long-running show. “The joke is, just when I think I should be winding down, I’m like, ‘No, I’m good for a couple more years!'” she said. That’s good, because it’s impossible to imagine the series (or squad) without her.
Hargitay is the sole original cast member remaining on Law & Order: SVU. Ice-T joined in Season 2 as Fin and remains part of the series. The longest cast member after him is Kelli Giddish, who joined in Season 21.
Season 27 directly addressed Benson’s future with the squad, with her even admitting in the finale that she didn’t know how much longer she could do the job. But Fin shot down ever retiring.
Virginia Sherwood/NBC
“Coming back to the show in Season 27, it was one of my questions like, ‘Oh my gosh, how long can this show go on?’ And in the first episode of this season, she tells Fin, ‘Listen, I know we’re closer to the end than the beginning,’ which is true of a 27-year-old show. Eventually, the show will end and instead of running away from that notion, it’s like, ‘Let’s go toward that and have Benson ask the question herself like, how much longer can I do this?'” showrunner Michele Fazekas told TV Insider after the finale. (She previously worked on the show for Seasons 3 through 7.)
She continued, “Benson has answered the question for herself like, ‘I’m going to do this for as long as I can because I can do nothing else,'” and that’s her mindset going into Season 28. “I think she’s recommitted herself. She’s not going to be asking that question because I think she’s answered that question.”
Mariska Hargitay also spoke to People about the different ways that making her Broadway debut is challenging her compared to what she’s used to with SVU.
“It definitely feels like you’re going out without a net, but that’s also the thrill of it,” she explained. “Even though I’m still challenged at SVU, I know the drill. I’m a boss lady. I can say, ‘Cut. Sorry guys, let’s go again. Can we take it from the top?'” But with her new gig, that’s not the case, and she enjoys that challenge.
Such is true of the work that goes into it. She’s rehearsing six days a week, and that’s “so exhausting in a new way,” she shared, from the work she’s done on SVU for 27 years and continues to do.
How long do you want to see SVU last? Let us know in the comments section below.
Law & Order: SVU, Season 28 Premiere, Fall 2026, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC
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