"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is one of the longest running TV shows today, and it has just released its season 18's premiere episode last Wednesday, aided by new showrunner Rick Eid. However, despite changing producers, fans can expect season 18's rendition to be similar to its previous installments but with a more protective Lt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay).
"Law & Order: SVU" premiered its 18th season with an episode titled "Terrorized" where Benson along with Kelli Giddish (Amanda Rollins) and Ice-T (Fin Tutuola) stumbled upon evidence of an ongoing plan for a mass casualty in the city. They did so through a boy they found wandering in Central Park in search of his parents.
The premiere episode of "Law & Order: SVU" season 18 provided its fans with a typical storyline, despite expectations of new changes since Eid took over as producer.
Even though fans might expect something new from the NBC television series since former "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" producer Warren Leight has been replaced, Eid expressed in an Entertainment Weekly interview that he intends to keep the show's authenticity by not making much changes. "The show's great and successful and we just want to keep doing great, high-quality work," he said.
However, even though nothing much will change in the latest installment of the show, Hargitay explained to EW how her character will become "more protective of her team going forward."
Hargitay explained that her character will become so because of Sgt. Mike Dodds' (Andy Karl) death back in season 17. "She blames herself for what happened," Hargitay said.
In "Law & Order: SVU's" previous season, Dodds was shot by officer Gary Munson (Brad Garrett) when Benson left him to help Lisa Munson (Karina Logue) leave the Munson household. Even though Dodds survived the gunshot, he shortly experienced a stroke in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit, and it later lead to his death. To make things worse for Benson, Dodd's father, Deputy Chief William Dodds (Peter Gallagher), also blames her for the death of his son.
On another note, Hargitay also stressed how this season of "Law & Order: SVU" is the first season where her character will be leading the entire squad room.
