‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 17: See Mariska Hargitay, cast in intense first promo

The seventeenth season of “Law & Order: SVU” is going to be premiering on NBC come Wednesday, September 23, and after watching the preview below, you have a reason to be concerned for many members of the unit.

After all, season 17 is starting with a case that may shock and horrify. There’s a serial killer that has left nine dead bodies in their wake, and Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and company are going to be brought in to help figure this one out. This is a case so intense, it is going to take two hours in order to solve it properly. There are premieres for some shows that tend to ease you into the story; here, “SVU” is really throwing you in from the deep end.

There are obviously going to be some things that are different about the series from the very beginning, including the exit of Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) from the show. This will force many other characters to have a larger role, in between Rollins (Kelli Giddish), Fin (Ice-T), and Carisi (Peter Scanavino). The preview also shows that Barba (Raul Esparza) is also going to make his presence felt.

Just in case you are wondering how “SVU” is able to get a first promo for the new season together a little faster than some other shows, the simple answer is that they tend to get a jump on their next season in the spring, rather than trying to film from the onset in the summer. Therefore, the show is entering production with a little bit of season 17 already in the can.

Are you excited after seeing this promo? Terrified? Either way, share in the comments.

(Photo: NBC.)