Is ‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 17, episode 18 new tonight on NBC? Mariska Hargitay to direct again

Let’s go ahead and get the bad news out of the way for all fans of “Law & Order: SVU”: There is no new episode airing on NBC tonight. The show is off the air until March 23, but we do still want to give you a few things to look at and enjoy.

Let’s start with this news: Mariska Hargitay is directing once more! A recent photo confirms that she is getting back into the chair for another episode to air later this season, and she is becoming rather prolific in taking this duty on for the show. Personally, we’re certainly fine with her being in charge of however many episodes that she can have time to do. We know that this is a pretty extensive thing to want to take on.

Just in case that’s not enough for you, we’ve also got official details for the two new episodes coming up.

17×18, “Unholiest Alliance” (March 23) – “When one of their own is implicated in a cover-up, the SVU struggles to unravel a sex trafficking operation deeply-rooted in government offices, the police department, and the Catholic Church.”

17×19, “Sheltered Outcasts” (March 30) – “Detective Carisi (Peter Scanavino) lives undercover at a homeless shelter to determine if one of its sex offender residents is the suspect in a string of neighborhood rapes.”

The latter episode in particular should be a great Carisi showcase, so if you are a fan of that character and Scanavino’s performance, there is definitely quite a bit to like there. (Photo: NBC.)