Mariska Hargitay Is Not Leaving ‘Law & Order: SVU’ In Spite Of Rumors

Mariska Hargitay has faced rumors that she was going to be departing her long-time gig as Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, almost as far back as Christopher Meloni’s 2011 departure, but Mariska is still devoted to the Law & Order spin-off series. This comes as particularly good news for Mariska’s fans, considering those rumors reached a zenith when Olivia Benson was demoted to another, less interesting unit. At the time, it seemed like a way of writing Hargitay off the show, but, as Law & Order: SVU progressed, fans soon saw it for what it was: another suspenseful twist in the show’s ever-evolving format. Now, Ms. Hargitay opens up about why she keeps coming back for more.

Law & Order: SVU Still Hasn’t Lost Appeal For Mariska Hargitay

While TV Guide shares news that Mariska is sticking with Law & Order: SVU throughout the foreseeable future, there are changes in the management of the series that will inevitably affect how the series is run. Those changes may have actually influenced Hargitay to stay in a roundabout way.

“I’m still here because it’s still challenging and interesting to me. I feel like we keep going deeper and mining out these new places. After 12 years [of doing SVU], I thought, ‘What are we going to do after 12 years?’ It was such an education for me because I had no idea,” Mariska Hargitay said.

When Warren Leight stepped up as showrunner for Season 13 of Law & Order: SVU, he revamped the show, placing greater emphasis on characterization and introducing a more serialized format. That refreshed the series just at a time when the show was beginning to fall into a rut, and as the series lead, Ms. Hargitay felt intrigued enough to see what kind of an influence Leight’s changes would have on the Law & Order fandom.

Now, Rick Eid is taking up the mantle from Leight and he will undoubtedly instill yet more changes, evolving Law & Order: SVU for a new generation of criminal procedural genre fans. Mariska is also intrigued to see what the new showrunner will have in store for her own Olivia Benson.

“I’m newly invigorated and newly excited to have a new vision on the show, and the consistence and excellence of someone who understands it so deeply, and someone who loves us enough to want to join 18 years later,” Hargitay says. “It’s very exciting to me… and it still feels utterly fresh.”

Mariska Hargitay Reveals How A Close Death Will Change Olivia Benson

The death of Detective Mike Dodds (Andy Karl) in the Season 17 finale wasn’t just devastating to fans. Observer reports that it was a catalyst for changes in the Special Victims Unit, coinciding with the change in showrunners, leaving Hargitay’s Olivia Benson in a precarious position. As Season 18 premieres tonight, Detective Benson is left feeling deeply affected by the loss of Mike Dodds and, at the same time, trying to be the comfort needed by her superior and Mike’s father, Chief Dodds (Peter Gallagher).

“It’s all very human between Benson and Dodds,” says Hargitay. “It’s painful and complicated and multi-layered because they’re both parents, and they’re boss and employee. This [storyline] is different for us. We haven’t done anything like this so it’s very interesting.”

Mariska’s Law & Order: SVU character isn’t just dealing with that strained relationship with her boss. She was more deeply affected by Mike’s death, because she had grown close to him personally, as well as feeling as though the unit had lost one of its own, a fellow officer. Now, Mariska shares that Benson begins to overcompensate and tries to put herself out there to protect the other officers in the Special Victims Unit in a mother hen kind of way.

“They had gotten very close and he was one of her own so I think there’s an underlying fear that she has to do everything and put herself out front and protect everyone at all costs,” explains Hargitay. “That’s rough [for her].”

Law & Order: SVU debuts Season 18 tonight on NBC.

[Featured Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images]