Law & Order: SVU season 21 premiere date hopes, a look ahead
Let’s start off with what’s been confirmed — SVU season 21 (now officially the longest-running primetime drama series ever in terms of seasons) will be premiering this fall in its current timeslot of 10:00 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday night. A specific premiere date will be hammered out a little bit later this fall.
Meanwhile, we also know that there’s going to be one major change within the cast, as Philip Winchester (Peter Stone) will be departing as series regular. That means, once again, that the series needs a new prosecutor. They’ve been in this position before — heck, they’ve been in this position many times. We don’t know what it is, but this has been a difficult role for this series to permanently fill. We’d of course love to say for certain that we could get Barba or some other familiar face from the past back, but offering up hope for something this uncertain, at least at the moment, would be all sorts of cruel.
There’s another important element of change worth noting, as well, as there will be a new showrunner … or rather, a former showrunner is coming on board. Michael Chernuchin is departing SVU after two years and Warren Leight will be returning to his old post. If you enjoyed his brand of storytelling from a few seasons back, consider this a rush of SVU nostalgia. Further details about some of the stories he wants to tell should be revealed over the months ahead.
Will all that much else change with season 21?
More than likely, no. SVU is not the sort of series that tends to shake things up too much from one season to the next — it is a model of relative consistency, as the forefront of this show has never been about the specific cast (other than perhaps Mariska Hargitay these days) or the producers behind the scenes. Instead, it’s more about the cases, the victims, and telling their stories. It’s about finding a way to connect this show to what’s happening in the real world and allowing those who are suffering to realize that there are people, even if they are fictional, fighting for them. That, in turn, may be a reminder that there are people in real life doing the same thing.
For now, there isn’t any indication that season 21 will be the final season of SVU — if the moment ever comes where this show does reach a fitting end, hopefully NBC announces it long in advance. That’s probably the only way in which we’re going to be able to handle it emotionally — plus, the writers deserve time to properly prepare for the future.
When do you want to see Law & Order: SVU season 21 premiere? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and stay tuned to get some other news. (Photo: NBC.)