‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 18: Mariska Hargitay explains continued passion

We are one day away from the premiere of “Law & Order: SVU” season 18, and we don’t ever want to lose sight of how remarkable that is. We’ve seen this show on the air for a whopping eighteen years! That is an incredibly long time for any TV show, and there are no signs that the show is stopping.

One of the reasons why Mariska Hargitay has remained interested herself is because there have been some different creative visions and challenges that have reinvigorated the series. Speaking on the matter (per TV Guide), the actress discussed sticking around through the lens of the big changes after season 12, when Christopher Meloni left and Warren Leight came on as showrunner:

“I’m still here because it’s still challenging and interesting to me. I feel like we keep going deeper and mining out these new places. After 12 years [of doing SVU], I thought, ‘What are we going to do after 12 years?’ It was such an education for me because I had no idea.”

Now, she’s speaking out further about how the arrival of new showrunner Rick Eid (Leight left after season 17) is shaking things up once more:

“I’m newly invigorated and newly excited to have a new vision on the show, and the consistence and excellence of someone who understands it so deeply, and someone who loves us enough to want to join 18 years later … It’s very exciting to me … and it still feels utterly fresh.”

While there are some changes that are coming to the show and things that will continue to change, there is one thing to remember: This is still “SVU.” It’s still going to have the same heroes and the same compelling stories.

(Photo: NBC.)