Why “Law & Order: SVU” Fans Are Rejoicing This Month
The lead-up to the premiere of Law & Order: SVU season 27 has been nothing short of exhilarating. Fans have been well fed with tons of Mariska Hargitay content, from her milestone anniversary with husband Peter Hermann to her explosive family documentary. Then, on Sunday, we were treated to her and fellow original SVU star Chris Meloni taking the stage at the Emmys to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Law & Order franchise.
And it will all culminate in the Sept. 25 premiere of the crime show’s 27th season—which Hargitay has been spearheading since she first stepped onto the scene as Olivia Benson in the 1999 pilot episode. (Fun fact: Law & Order: SVU has earned Hargitay the title of longest-running actress on a primetime drama series.)
RELATED: 7 Best Documentaries Streaming Now.
So, what’s in store for the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit this season? Ice-T, who portrays Sergeant Odafin “Fin” Tutuola, teased in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that “I get my [expletive] beaten and end up in the hospital,” in the very first episode.
The 30-second teaser shows Benson and the gang running around the streets of Manhattan, hunting down the concrete jungle’s most frightening criminals. In one clip, Hargitay’s character assures a victim that “It’s okay if you don’t want to fight because we are gonna fight for you,” before laying into a potential suspect: “I’m gonna make sure you spend the rest of your days in a six by eight cell.”
And Sunday, in a red-carpet interview before the Emmys, Meloni was asked if his SVU character, Elliot Stabler, will finally “hook up” with Olivia Benson. “I can’t tell you, America,” he responded, while snickering.
It’s been four months since season 26 concluded, but Olivia Benson fans have had plenty of content to indulge in in the interim.
Last month, Hargitay celebrated her 21st wedding anniversary to Hermann. The pair, who wed in 2006, share three children: sons August Miklos Friedrich and Andrew Nicholas Hermann, and daughter Amaya Josephine Hermann.
Hargitay documented the special milestone with a carousel of photos on Instagram. In a trio of selfies, the pair can be seen cuddled up next to one another at a restaurant. “Anniversary weekend #21,” she captioned the post with two red heart emojis.
But earlier this summer, Hargitay released a major project of her own. Her documentary, My Mom Jayne, dropped on Max in June. The emotional doc pulls back the curtain on her mom, Jayne Mansfield’s, life and career in Hollywood, and subsequently, her untimely death at the young age of 34 in 1967.
Perhaps the most shocking revelation to come from the film is when Hargitay reveals that the man who raised her is, in fact, not her biological father, Nelson Sardelli.
“I just always knew something was up,” Hargitay told The New York Times. She recalled not bearing a resemblance to her four siblings or dad, Mickey Hargitay. She said she was “tormented” by the panic of “not belonging anywhere.”
While Hargitary credits Mickey for her “perseverance,” she said a large part of her identity is shaped by her mom’s influence
“The reason that I’m like the way I am is because I learned from her,” Hargitay said of Jayne. “I learned what not to do. I learned to not let anyone tell me — that I decide.”
Fans can stream My Mom Jayne on Max ahead of the season 27 premiere of Law & Order: SVU on Sept. 25.