‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 17: See Mariska Hargitay, Kelli Giddish, cast in new photos!

Promotional photos are not something that every show invests in year after year, but we are always glad in the ones who do. It gives you a sense of progression, both in terms of where a cast is at and how each character has changed their looks over time. Bonus points for the ones that actually surround the actors with something suitable for the show; we have seen some truly terrible ones over the years that feel like a Photoshop experiment gone terribly wrong.

Luckily, the producers of “Law & Order: SVU” got a heck of a lot right when it comes to formulating their promotional photos for season 17; they’ve got a gritty background, some cool individual shots, and they highlight who are the five main cast members in Peter Scanavino, Raul Esparza, Mariska Hargitay, Kelli Giddish, and Ice-T. It made sense that NBC would release new ones this year, given that Danny Pino (Nick Amar) is no longer a part of the show.

The only critique we’d really offer is in the group shot, where it seems like most of the characters are leaning away from Benson, almost like she is parting the Red Sea of crime-solvers with her presence. Still, these are far and away better than a good 80% of what networks put out leading into a premiere.

You can click on any image below to get a better view, and remember that “SVU” premieres on NBC come Wednesday, September 23 with a two-hour episode that may remind you at times of the infamous Robert Durst case.

(Photo: NBC.)