How Law & Order: SVU season 21 is embracing historical status

It’s not lost on anyone entering Law & Order: SVU season 21 that this is a special year for the show. It’s one that is making history as the longest-running primetime scripted drama ever, but there is also a cognizance here that it can’t just be a victory laugh. Nobody wants confetti without substance here, and this show can’t lose sight on what it’s all about — powerful stories, believing victims, and celebrating the heroes who make sure horrible people are brought to justice. This is a show that story-wise means so much to so many people, and rather than just celebrating the 21-season milestone, the writers are viewing the number as a challenge. They want to create episodes that live up to the record and show that they want many more seasons coming down the line.

To get a better sense of this, executive producer Warren Leight had the following to say to E! News:

We are aware of this has never been done before. And you don’t want it to be just a regular season, you want it to be special. You want the stories to not feel like they could’ve happened any time in the last—it could’ve been episode 330 or 387, you want it to feel like, ‘That was one of the season 21 episodes.’ We’re looking for stories that allow as full a range of emotion as possible.

Leight also noted that there is a historic occasion behind-the-scenes as well — this is the first season where there are more women than men in the writers room. That matters for the sake of inclusion and for getting a chance to tell new stories with a different sort of energy. It helps to ensure that through everything, SVU doesn’t miss a step and it continues to raise the stakes and separate itself from the past. You want the episodes to feel familiar and nostalgic, but also still topical and current. Olivia Benson and other characters should evolve, so the show needs to follow that lead.

We’ll see what happens when SVU premieres this September, but we know already they are starting off with the arrival of Ian McShane in a prominent guest role.

What do you want to see on SVU season 21?

Do you think the stories will live up to the record status? Be sure to share in the comments, and stick around for some other news on what’s ahead. (Photo: NBC.)