Mariska Hargitay Is Getting Lots Of Love For Her Broadway Debut, But What About Law & Order: SVU’s Renewal Odds?

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Let's look at what this means (and doesn't mean) for Season 28.

Benson addressing her unit in Law & Order: SVU Season 27x08
(Image credit: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

You might think that Mariska Hargitay has already been pretty much everywhere in New York City after nearly three decades as the star of Law & Order: SVU, but the actress is now heading somewhere new: the Broadway stage. Yes, once Season 27 of SVU wraps in the 2026 TV schedule, Hargitay will be found performing on stage rather than screen. While that’s certainly exciting news, fans who aren’t anywhere near NYC may be more concerned about what it means for the prospects of a Season 28 renewal.

Fortunately, I’d wager that there’s much more to celebrate than to worry about at this point, and plenty of SVU costars and celebrities are all-in.

Mariska Hargitay’s Broadway Debut

Just days before SVU returns from its latest mini hiatus, news broke that Mariska Hargitay is stepping into the lead (and only) role of Every Brilliant Thing. She’ll take over the part from Daniel Radcliffe, who has become an NBC star in his own right thanks to Tracy Morgan’s The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. Every Brilliant Thing is a solo play with one lead interacting with the audience throughout the performance. Via EW, Hargitay had this to say about her Broadway debut:

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I read Every Brilliant Thing and cried, rejoiced, laughed, cried some more, and loved it so much. I’m always drawn to themes of healing and renewal, especially when the journey is rendered in all its complexity. It feels like an extraordinary gift to make my Broadway debut, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, with a play that affirms life so emphatically. For me, the triumph of this beautiful piece of work—this luminously brilliant thing—is that through a deeply personal story, we experience the universal endeavor of keeping ourselves pointed towards light, compassion and hope.

A brief video of Mariska Hargitay celebrating her new gig showed her not only looking a lot happier than Captain Olivia Benson generally has reason to be on SVU, but sporting a haircut. Check it out:

Unsurprisingly, the comment sections of the various Instagram posts about her being cast in Every Brilliant Thing are full of congratulations for Hargitay from fans, SVU stars, and even stray celebrities as a reminder that, at some point or other, pretty much everybody has probably seen at least a glimpse her in the Law & Order world over her 500+ episodes. Take a look at just some of them:

So, with Mariska Hargitay moving from screen to stage after the end of SVU Season 27 and apparently cutting off some of her Olivia Benson hair, what does the future hold for the long-running NBC drama? I for one am not worried.

What About Season 28?

While it’s certainly true that NBC has not yet renewed Law & Order: SVU for Season 28, there’s also no reason to believe that Mariska Hargitay’s Broadway gig will impact the fate of the show. Her run as the lead of Every Brilliant Thing will last for just 40 shows from May 26 - June 28, with the actress following up on Daniel Radcliffe’s final performance on May 24.

Filming on Season 27 of SVU would have already been well over by that May 26 Broadway debut date, and production on Season 28 wouldn’t begin until after the late June ending. Whatever the future holds for Captain Olivia Benson, it shouldn’t be impacted by Every Brilliant Thing.

Of course, I can’t blame any fans who might be getting antsy about the wait for renewal news. After all, every other corner of the Dick Wolf TV universe has been renewed for the 2026-2027 TV season, with FBI already guaranteed Season 9 by CBS in 2024, CIA renewed shortly into Season 1 on CBS, and the three shows of One Chicago renewed by NBC in one fell swoop. Both Law & Order and SVU are waiting on word from NBC, while Law & Order: Organized Crime’s future on Peacock has been uncertain for nearly a year now.

That said, SVU wasn’t renewed for Season 27 until May last year, so the news might not come for another month or so if NBC follows a similar timeline this year. Plus, in a recent Instagram video about his return to the SVU set, Ice-T said that “going into Season 28, Fin will still be alive and breathing,” then clarified in the comment section:

FYI Season 28 is not confirmed yet… But it’s looking good. ☝🏽

So, if you were concerned that Mariska Hargitay coming to Broadway in any way boded poorly for the future of Law & Order: SVU, I’d stop worrying. Ice-T says it's "looking good"! In fact, the only show that seems likely to be in danger on NBC’s Law & Order Thursdays is probably The Hunting Party, which took over Law & Order: Organized Crime’s former time slot at 10 p.m. ET on Thursdays in the new year.

For now, the wait continues for renewal news, but you can at least count on the return of SVU for its first new episode in a few weeks on Thursday, April 2 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. You can also stream past episodes with a Peacock subscription and/or a Hulu subscription.

Laura Hurley
Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).

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