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Law & Order: SVU wrapped up its 27th season on the 2026 TV schedule, and the show continues to be a hit on NBC. As it inches closer to its 30th anniversary, SVU is keeping things fresh for fans while also bringing in some nostalgic touches, whether it be storylines that call back to earlier seasons or fan-favorite characters. In fact, one of Mariska Hargitay’s scenes in the Season 27 finale marked a full-circle moment for the director, and I absolutely love it.
In the finale, “Monster,” the squad was on the hunt for a serial killer, with the climax happening in the rain. Showrunner Michele Fazekas wrote the script for the episode and added the rain element, which probably only heightened the stakes because they’re wet, they can barely see, and it’s a lot more slippery. For Brenna Malloy, however, directing the finale brought her back to the very beginning of SVU, as she told Variety:
I remember being in that moment and thinking, ‘I met Olivia Benson in the rain in the pilot. Here she is, 27 years later, still fighting for justice in the elements.’ We shot the scene, and I thought we had it. Mariska said, ‘I need one more.’ She did something so tender and maternal. I thought, this is why the show is still strong after 27 years. She wants to do better.
This was the very first scene in which fans met Olivia Benson during SVU’s pilot back in 1999. In that first scene, it's raining, Benson and Stabler are called to a crime scene, and the rest is history. For the Season 27 finale to somewhat call back to the pilot, it’s definitely pretty special. And Malloy knew just how special it really was, especially since Hargitay didn’t mind shooting in the rain late at night:
It would be the easiest thing in the world for someone like Mariska to totally coast and say, ‘I’m not going to be in the woods at midnight soaking wet. I’ve earned that.’ But because Michele was in on the idea, so was Mariska. We had support from Wolf. We were all there in the woods, and she was soaking wet, holding the victim.
It’s nice to know that even after all these years, Hargitay is down for almost anything while filming Law & Order: SVU. Since filming in the rain, whether real or fake, can probably be hard logistically, depending on what it involves, I’m glad that it worked out.
While the scene in the pilot and the scene in the Season 27 finale are pretty different from each other in terms of what’s going on, just the fact that Malloy and the fans, and likely Hargitay, are able to have this full-circle moment because of one very important element is pretty great.
Even though it is a full-circle moment, don’t expect this to mark the beginning of the end of the Law & Order franchise. Both the Mothership and SVU are coming back for new seasons this fall, and while Law & Order: Organized Crime is done, it wouldn’t be surprising if Christopher Meloni’s Elliot Stabler popped up on SVU in the near future. Fans are hungry for more Bensler, and OC’s cancellation certainly won’t stand in the way of that.
More details on the upcoming season of SVU should be coming soon. In the meantime, fans can watch the full-circle moment that Malloy was talking about with a Hulu subscription for the pilot and a Peacock subscription for the Season 27 finale.
