Are We Reaching The End Of Dick Wolf's Law And Order Universe? What Mariska Hargitay Says

Law & Order: SVU is wrapping up its 27^th season on the 2026 TV schedule, but the end is not yet here. NBC has renewed the series for Season 28. However, Law & Order is still awaiting news, and Law & Order: Organized Crime just got canceled after five seasons. So, now, the big question is: Are we reaching the end of Dick Wolf’s mega Law & Order franchise? Mariska Hargitay had some thoughts.

It’s hard to believe that SVU is still going on, and has been going on consistently since 1999. The show is a staple not only on NBC but on network television as a whole, and it’s hard to imagine a world without it. Despite its long reign, Hargitay, who has been playing Captain Olivia Benson since the start and is the longest-running franchise actor, still loves being on the show. That being said, there has to be an end at some point, so how long does she see SVU going? When asked by Deadline if the show could make it to 35 seasons, she just had one goal in mind:

SVU is already closing in on 600 episodes, a feat it will accomplish next season, so hitting 30 seasons seems like the next ultimate goal. At this point, it doesn’t seem too hard to achieve, but it's also not guaranteed. However, if any show has a chance to go the distance, it’s definitely SVU, which is practically considered to be the Law & Order show now instead of Law & Order itself.

The Mothership already got canceled once, and while it’s made a successful comeback, the fact that it hasn’t secured a spot for next season is troubling, especially since NBC has a handful of drama pilots to consider as well. However, the franchise managed to hold its own with SVU, so it wouldn’t be surprising if that were to happen again. It can be assumed that if there is ever one Law & Order show left again, it would be SVU. So theoretically, if it’s the last one standing by the time it reaches Season 30, that could very well be it.

Technically, there is still another Law & Order show at play, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent. It’s based on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and is separate from the franchise. The series premiered on Canada’s Citytv in 2024 but only made its way to the States last fall on The CW. L&O Toronto is wrapping up its third season in May, with Season 2 airing on The CW sometime this fall. But, counting the actual NBC franchise, only SVU and possibly Law & Order are left.

At the very least, fans can breathe knowing there’s at least one more year left of SVU, and it shouldn’t be long until NBC makes a decision on the Mothership. Dick Wolf's TV franchise began with the Law & Order Universe, which has been around since the early ‘90s, and unfortunately, it’s bound to end someday. However, hopefully, they can do what Mariska Hargitay said and make it a few more years, if not longer.