"Law and Order: SVU" season 17 is moving forward, and according to a report from E! News, the show will retain its method of taking current news issues and using them as templates for the cases on the show. Case in point, it appears that season 17 will have a strong focus on transgender issues. 

The country has seen quite a lot of controversy lately, which, relatively speaking, began with Olympic medalist Bruce Jenner admitting he is a transgender. This was followed by his eventual change into Caitlyn Jenner. Issues arose even more when the Supreme Court of the United States made it a federal mandate to make same-sex marriage legal across the board. 

According to actress Kelli Giddish, she told E! News that the team is already in the midst of production and they are currently tackling transgender issues in the show. It is very likely that one or more cases that the SVU team will have to solve revolves around transgender equality and acceptance while being drowned in crime and blood. 

As for her character, Giddish stated, "Rollins, I think it's so cool to really see her get enveloped by a case and maybe a subject. I think maybe you'll see her become a little obsessed with that." 

Obsession over a case can lead to detrimental effects especially for a detective. It may be possible that this level of obsession will make Rollins ignore facts to chase a theory she believes in or she might be the only one right on a particular case but no one wants to support her. 

"Law and Order: SVU" is one of the few shows that begins production early, as cited by a report from CarterMatt. The team shoots a few episodes in summer, takes a quick break, and then by fall, they begin right where they left off from their summer production. 

"Law and Order: SVU" season 17 is currently slated to premiere this fall.