Jamie Gray Hyder, Demore Barnes leaving Law & Order: SVU

Law & Order: SVU logo

There is some shocking news coming out today from the Law & Order: SVU world. On the upcoming two-hour season 23 premiere, both Jamie Gray Hyder and Demore Barnes are going to be departing the show.

The news was first reported late this afternoon via Deadline, and of course we’re left wondering why Officer Kat Tamin and Deputy Chief Christian Garland would both be going at the same time. There were some signs that hinted at a potential Garland exit, but SVU does not exactly have a big cast in the first place. To lose two cast members at once, even if they are fairly-recent additions, is a pretty dramatic blow.

With these exits in mind, Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Peter Scanavino, and Kelli Giddish are the only remaining SVU cast members. This show has always operated with a smaller core than a lot of other series, but we have a hard time that they will be sticking with four regulars for a long period of time. Odds are, there will be someone else brought on the show at some point.

Ultimately, we do think that SUV will weather this storm, mostly because they have weathered so many over the years. It withstood the loss of Christopher Meloni, for example, and for so many years it didn’t look as though he was ever going to be coming back. They can figure this out, but that doesn’t mean that it’s an easy headline to think about.

At the time of this writing, there is no reason known as to why we’re losing two cast members at the same time. We’ll let you know if that changes.

What do you think about Law & Order: SVU losing both Jamie Gray Hyder and Demore Barnes in the two-hour premiere?

Let us know now in the comments! After you do that, remember to also come back for some additional news on the show. (Photo: NBC.)

This article was written by Jess Carter.

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