The New Season of Law and Order: SVU

Law and Order: SVU will return to NBC for its 11^th season on Wednesday, September 23 at 9p.m. To the delight of SVU's legions of fans, Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni will reprise their roles as lead detectives Benson and Stabler. During the show's summer hiatus, there was drama behind the scenes of the hugely popular series because Hargitay and Meloni were in contract disputes with NBC. Having the show's stars not return may not have bode well for the show as many websites were bombarded with fan comments of the sentiment that the series would not be the same. Some fans even declared that they would never watch again if Benson and Stabler did not return. Well have no fear, NBC was able to make a deal with the stars to have them return for at least one more season with an option for a second. Zap2it.com reports that they were also given their sought after pay raises.

While websites and bloggers were abuzz about the return of Benson and Stabler, NBC did one better and posted a sneak peek of the show's 11^th season opener. (Check it out at www.nbc.com). And low and behold, another surprise. Prison Break star Wentworth Miller has been added to the mix for a couple of episodes. Yes, the former serial prison escapee has moved to the other side of the law playing a detective who saves a rape victim. The preview shows eye-candy Miller in a scene with Benson, Stabler and Captain Cragen (Dann Florek). Det. Nate Kendal is giving Captain Cragen lip because he doesn't want to babysit the rape victim he saved. Though I never watched Prison Break, just looking at how hot Wentworth Miller is makes me welcome his character with open arms even though he is a bit of a smart aleck.

Film and TV star Christine Lahti will also be guest starring. According to eonline.com, she will appear in the series' first four episodes as an Assistant District Attorney. After Lahti exits, Stephanie March who was away in the witness protection program but returned last season, will step back in as Alex Cabot for 10 episodes.

Law and Order: SVU which stands for Special Victims Unit is a part of the Law and Order franchise which includes the original Law and Order and L&O: Criminal Intent. Each was created by TV veteran Dick Wolf. SVU depicts the on-goings in the lives of the dedicated cops who work in the SVU and the rapes, sexual assaults and heinous crimes they handle. Viewers are also able to see when those cases go to court and how they are handled in the system.

Season 11 should be a juicy one with the way last season ended. The finale was one that had the whole gang including detectives Finch and Tutuola played by Richard Belzer and Ice T, going after a serial killer who struck in broad daylight. In the end, it was one of their own, lab worker Stuckey (Noel Fisher) who killed his fellow co-worker and then started cutting up the chest of Stabler. Benson arrived and tricked Stuckey into thinking she too didn't care for Stabler, of course this was before the duo worked together to eventually overtake and kill the traitor. Stabler will more than likely have to deal with the after effects of the attack and possible physical scars this season.

SVU moves to Wednesday nights this fall at 9p.m. It will face off against Modern Family (ABC); The Beautiful Life (CW); Glee (Fox); and fellow crime drama Criminal Minds (CBS). The stiffest competition should be Criminal Minds which since its debut has gained a strong steady audience and become a Top 20 sometimes Top 10 hit for CBS. SVU does have quite a following of its own and should have no problem maintaining it success. I, for one, can't wait for the new season to begin. Until then, I will be watching reruns and marathons on USA and NBC. Those are pretty good too.

Sources:
www.eonline.com
www.ew.com
www.nbc.com
www.Zap2it.com