‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 16: Show’s future discussed at PaleyFest

Last night, the cast and producers from “Law & Order: SVU” stopped by PaleyFest in New York City for a rare panel conversation, and what came out of it was a very engaging, often emotional experience. Star Mariska Hargitay was choked up discussing the Joyful Heart Foundation, Ice-T was nostalgic discussing how he originally signed up to do four episodes of the show, and Danny Pino was honest discussing how it was difficult at first to handle all the media going after him just for not being Chris Meloni.

Of course, though, the question that many expected to see asked at the event was how long the show will now last. This is what happens when you are 16 seasons into anything! Executive producer Dick Wolf, who is basically the architect behind the entire “Law & Order” franchise (plus the new Chicago shows) said that “as long as it’s physically possible,” the show will stay on the air. Translation: It’s not going anywhere for a while, at least if the ratings stay solid.

Personally, we are starting to wonder if this show can make it all the way to twenty seasons. It’s not the highest-rated drama that NBC has, but it is consistent, it repeats pretty wlel, and it has a dedicated legion of fans. While it’s unclear if the cast wants to stick around for that long (the hours and the days are long while filming), that would in some ways be the dream for us at this point.

(Photo via NBC.)