‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 16 spoilers: A change in philosophy for Mariska Hargitay’s Benson?

Going into “Law & Order: SVU” season 16, we assumed that we were going to see a different side of Olivia Benson for a number of reasons … with the primary one being that this is a woman who is now a mother, and that has to be taken into consideration for everything that she does.

Due to this, don’t expect to see Mariska Hargitay’s character willingly throw herself into the line of fire nearly as much as she did last year. After all, it would be irresponsible for her to unless she had no other choice. For some further news on the matter, just take a look at what executive producer Warren Leight had to say on the subject in a new interview with TVLine:

“Last year, she took enormous risks in her pursuit of William Lewis; from now on, she’s aware there’s an infant at home entirely dependent on her.”

On a completely unrelated note, the series is also preparing to introduce right now another character into the fold for the first time in Rollins’ mother, who Leight describes as “a real piece of work.” It will probably be a little while until we hear much in the way of casting news here, which doesn’t really surprise us at all, given how early we still are in production.

Filming for the season resumed last month, and the first episode back will premiere on September 24 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. Some things to expect include new guest stars at the squad, controversial new cases, and also a storyline for Amaro that could see his home life and his relationship with his family tested like never before.

Is there anything in particular you want to see on the new season? Share in the comments below now.

Photo: NBC