On June 23, 2010, Michael Ausiello reported that Paula Patton was in “advanced talks” to join the show as a permanent ADA. TV Guide later confirmed that Patton would play Assistant District Attorney Mikka Von in several episodes, beginning with the fifth episode.[12] She was supposed to fill the ADA seat, vacated by Stephanie March (Alexandra Cabot) and Sharon Stone (Jo Marlowe). Patton appeared in only one episode, but dropped out to shoot Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.[13] Her role was replaced by Melissa Sagemiller as Gillian Hardwicke. [14] [15] Sagemiller and Mariska Hargitay previously collaborated on the SVU episode “Russian Love Poem,” in which Sagemiller played a victim. “There`s something in my past, a personal connection we have, something she did for me and a family member she helped. She doesn`t know about it yet, but that will be revealed in future episodes,” Sagemiller said. ADA Hardwicke`s history has never been revealed. His personality, Sagemiller says, is at the forefront. “She`s tough. She has a heart, she just gets what she wants. Sagemiller added: “She sticks to the letter of the law, sometimes a mistake, but in the end, I think she always does the right thing. [16] A woman`s body is found mutilated in an elevator shaft, and the crime appears to be a copied murder that replicates the techniques of a serial killer imprisoned with a cult. As investigators continue to investigate, Benson receives threats that endanger the entire department, prompting the captain to order them out of the case. Robin Williams plays engineer Merritt Rook, who claims to be a police officer on the phone to incite people to commit criminal acts.

Rook`s skillful self-defense in court frees him, earning him publicity and supporters stemming from his anti-authority message. Scott Adsit is also a guest star. For the first eleven years of Law & Order: SVU, the set was located in New Jersey, in NBC`s Central Archives building in North Bergen. Faced with the loss of the state`s 20% tax incentives, the series moved to New York City to the studio space of Chelsea Piers, occupied by the original Law & Order series. After the fourth episode of the season, the original New Jersey set was no longer used.[5] [6] Exterior filming was interrupted on January 26, 2011 due to a snowstorm. Production resumed in the studio at Chelsea Piers. At the end of the season, Neal Baer left his position as showrunner.[7] After the season finale, Christopher Meloni, BD Wong and Tamara Tunie left the main cast.[2] Maria Bello appeared in the seventh episode of the season of “Trophy” as Vivian Arliss.[3] After identifying an ex-convict as the prime suspect in the rape and murder of a girl, Benson discovers that Arliss` mother was raped by the same man. Arliss leaves her son Calvin (Charlie Tahan) in Benson`s care to find the boy`s father.

She later appeared in the tenth episode “Rescue”.[27] Marcia Gay Harden returned in the eighth season episode “Penetration” as FBI agent Dana Lewis. Agent Lewis is raped undercover, and his rapist has a connection to one of his previous undercover operations in “Raw.” [28] When a teenage girl (Kristina Alexandra Makarian) exhibits symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder due to sexual abuse on a plane, all the evidence points to a wealthy defense contractor (Colm Feore). The billionaire replies that the girl raped him at a party he organizes, and Benson and Stabler find a woman (Kelli Barrett) who seems to be looking for young girls for him. Fearing that the commando had no evidence of arrest, Munch worked to make the girl`s blog viral, prompting other rape victims to come forward. On April 12, 2010, NBC officially recorded SVU for a twelfth season, with Meloni and Hargitay returning under a one-year contract with NBC prior to the start of production on Season 11, which included an option for a second year. The two began filming new episodes in June and July 2010. Hargitay expressed interest in her character having a baby this season, saying, “A friend! A baby! I don`t even need to get married. I just want a baby! Give me a baby! The twelfth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered in the United States on September 22, 2010 on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and ended on May 18, 2011. This was the first season in which the series did not air alongside the original law and order. The episodes originally aired on Wednesdays between 9:00 p.m. and 10:9 (Eastern Time), with the exception of the first episode of the season, which aired from 9:00 p.m.

to 11:10 p.m. After the winter break, SVU returned on January 5, 2011 with another two-hour show, before the broadcast time was changed to the 22/22c slot the following week. The episode “Fight” features appearances by UFC fighters Forrest Griffin and Renzo Gracie.[1] Nicole “Coco” Austin also appeared and had a scene with her husband Ice-T. This was their first appearance together, although Coco had previously played on CSR. Mark Valley played a father in the next episode “Paternity” who was shocked to learn that his child was not related to him.[18] Bruce Fretts of TV Guide said he “had more dramatic meat to chew on in an hour than he did in three years at Boston Legal.” This episode also deals with the birth of Elliot Stabler`s fifth child and was submitted as an Emmy request episode for Christopher Meloni.[19] [20] Olivia Benson finds herself in a situation where she has to help deliver the baby, and Elliot Stabler hugs her to thank her. It wasn`t in the script, but Meloni insisted during the filming of the scene, saying, “Guys, I need to hug them.” [21] The third episode of this season focuses on an investigation involving a rape kit that took Detective Olivia Benson (Hargitay) from New York to Los Angeles to meet Detective Rex Winters (Skeet Ulrich) of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The episode was filmed while Hargitay was in Los Angeles in August 2010 for the Primetime Emmy Awards and aired on September 29 before the premiere of Law & Order: LA on NBC. The ninth season of the crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on September 25, 2007 and ended on NBC on May 13, 2008. It aired on Tuesday nights at 10pm/9c. Mariska Hargitay, who won a Golden Globe Award in 2005, received her second Golden Globe nomination for her work in the ninth season. Shareeka Epps made her first television appearance in the dark episode “Undercover” as a terrified rape victim who is attacked by a prison guard.

The episode was filmed in a real prison. In “Closet”, Bill Pullman played Kurt Moss, a journalist in a short-lived relationship with Olivia Benson.[22] To compliment Pullman, Neal Baer joked, “Benson finally has a boyfriend, and it was worth the wait.” In the penultimate episode “Trade”, Stephen Collins and Matthew Davis played Bartlett Sr. and Jr., two coffee tycoons suspected of murdering a woman.[23] When asked if he enjoyed being on CSR, Collins tweeted: “Yes, but the role was difficult.” [24] This was followed by the fast-paced season finale “Cold”. Neal Baer left Law & Order: SVU at the end of the season after serving as showrunner for eleven years (seasons 2–12). He decided not to renew his NBC contract and instead signed a three-year contract with CBS Studios. With young Calvin Arliss (Charlie Tahan) in his care, Benson claims to be looking for his drug-addicted mother Vivian (Maria Bello). However, Stabler begins to question this after noticing the connection between Olivia and Calvin. After catching two paramedics (Mike Starr and James Martinez) for raping a drunken partygoer (Shea Glaser) on the way to the hospital, SVU discovers that Vivian was at an open house attended by paramedics. Captain Cragen entrusts the matter to Tutuola and Munch, but Benson interferes with his orders, causing Olivia grief. After the departure of Geoffrey Erb in the previous season, George Pattison became the show`s cinematographer.

Speaking about the Season 9 graphics, Neal Baer said: “Last year we were too dark; We want better lighting. [3] A woman (Cynthia Nixon) with multiple personalities may have hurt her young daughter. When Stabler and Benson investigate the case, they discover that the woman herself may have been abused as a child, which shattered her psyche. In the meantime, Munch will be put in charge of the department after the captain`s temporary retirement. Bronson Pinchot guest stars. David Krumholtz was a guest in the fifth episode “Wet” with actress Rosemary Harris. Krumholtz played a poisonous mushroom expert who is involved in the same murder investigation in which Harris` character was involved. [23] Paula Patton, who was originally cast as ADA, also made an appearance as ADA Mikka Von. In the episode, his character is fired for sending a defense attorney on vacation to give the detectives more time to find out who actually committed the murder. In the sixth episode “Branded,” Michael Gladis and Kevin Alejandro played two of the three rape victims.

“They were tagged and sodomized by someone,” revealed Baer, who said the show asked the questions: “Is there a connection between these men and what crazy case is going on?” [24] David Alan Grier played defenseman Jeremy Swift. Jason Wiles also joined Gladis, Alejandro and Grier in the episode. Wiles played Alexander Gammon, who becomes the target of a rapist.[25] [26] Benson poses as a prisoner to denounce a corrupt guard suspected of stealing evidence in a rape case. Shareeka Epps and Hassan Johnson are guest stars. Towards the end of the season, it was announced that Diane Neal (ADA Casey Novak) would be leaving the cast and a few days later, it was said that she had been fired from the show.