‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 16, episode 17 preview: Return date, more for Mariska Hargitay, cast

When will “Law & Order: SVU” return to the air? That is a very good question at the moment, especially since there was not a promo that aired after Wednesday night’s “December Solstice.”

Ultimately, part of the reason for that may be that the post-production folks are still working on the next episode, and given that we are now a good two-thirds into the season, it makes sense to have a little bit of a hiatus. Also, there’s another interesting factor to think about here: “Empire.” The Fox series has become a ratings force on Wednesday nights, and in holding off on some new episodes until later in the spring, that gives “SVU” more opportunities to air without that sort of competition.

According to a new report from the Futon Critic, there may not be a definitive return date just yet. However, we would target either March 25 or April 1 as a possible return date. Either way, the show could air all of its remaining episodes in a row, and it would include right in the middle of the May sweeps. That’s a good thing to us, since we much prefer shows airing in bunches rather than spreading episodes around. Some shows, such as “NCIS” and “Criminal Minds” on CBS, are notorious for doing that.

As for when we should have some further news when it comes to “SVU,” the simple answer is “hopefully soon.” NBC does tend to issue press releases a few weeks before the next installment airs.

(Photo: NBC.)