“Dick and I had many discussions about that and, in fact, still were having them for the finale.” I think the problem is when a show runs as long as SVU has run, if the characters don’t change, it begins to look wrong on them,” he says. “It’s one of the conventions of Law and Order that the characters aren’t supposed to change. Leight admits it took some heated discussions to convince executive producer Dick Wolf that it was time to shake up Benson’s life, particularly when it came to the question of adoption. 'Law & Order: SVU' Prepares for Transition Onscreen and Off The same is true behind the scenes, where Hargitay has since stepped up to become a producer as well as a director, having already helmed four episodes and with two more on the docket for season 18. In a way, realizing when he left that she was in many ways the most experienced detective and the most vital detective in that squad room empowered her.” “It’s not a diss on Chris or Elliot, but that character was in a long-term relationship that prevented her from having the kind of relationships she has since developed. In a weird way, Elliot’s departure freed her up,” Leight says. “Her character, when I got there, was stuck in this sad apartment and was eating spaghetti out of the can over the sink. However, the departure of Meloni ultimately presented Leight and the rest of the writers, many of whom were also new, with a big opportunity when it came to Olivia. “There were a lot of people on crew who really wanted to see things change, and then there were people who just wanted to do exactly what we had been doing.” There was so much animosity and loss about Chris’ departure,” Leight says. But it didn’t make saying goodbye any easier for Leight. “He’s a heroic guy, a little bit hard for people to get to know at first, but in the end, he’s carried out on his shield.”īehind the scenes, the end of Karl’s season-long tenure on the show comes because of a much more celebratory reason: the theater vet is headed to London to star in the Groundhog Day musical before it makes its Broadway debut. Is he going to live his own life? Or is he going to follow the path his father has helped clear for him?” Leight says.

“We were really exploring, with Dodds and his father, that very complicated father-son relationship where he’s trying so hard to be what his dad wants him to be. He was eventually taken off life support, much to the devastation of Benson ( Mariska Hargitay) and Dodds‘ father (and Benson’s boss), Deputy Chief William Dodds (Peter Gallagher). What is that loss like? What is that anxiety like for families of police officers?”ĭodds did his best to fight his way through the injury, but blood clots began forming in his brain and affecting his speech and other functions.

“We just also wanted to give respect to the police officers who do risk their lives every day and whose families don’t know if they’re ever coming home. There’s an invulnerability to them, and that’s not the reality of that job,” Leight says. “We tend to think of our guys almost being like superheroes in a way.

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