Similarly, Meloni left SVU after 12 seasons when he was told he would receive an $8 million salary, which would have been a pay cut for him. Since they couldn`t get along, Meloni left the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The inspiration for the series came from a 1986 murder in Central Park by Robert Emmet Chambers, whose strategy in court was to sexualize the victim. [2] The first season of Law & Order, “Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die”, is based on this case. Dick Wolf wanted to explore more similar topics in his own legal drama and hired Ted Kotcheff and Robert Palm as executive producers of the new series, as well as Jean de Segonzac, the director of the Law & Order franchise. Robert Palm was previously executive producer of Law & Order and was the first person to use the term “mothership” to distinguish the original from its spin-offs. [3] This phrase has become popular among fans of the franchise. While looking for a location where the show`s interiors could be filmed, the producers found that there were no suitable studio spaces available in New York City. As a result, a room in NBC`s Central Archives building near North Bergen, New Jersey, was selected, which had been vacant for some time and had air conditioning, ample parking and 53,000 square feet (4,900 m2) of stage space. [65] The archives building was used for police stations and courtrooms,[64] while various other locations in Hudson County were used for other scenes, such as a scene filmed on Meadowlands Drive in Secaucus in 2010.
However, the production moved from New Jersey to New York in 2010 when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie suspended tax credits for film and television productions for fiscal year 2011 to fill budget gaps. The series moved to the studios of Chelsea Piers, which were occupied by the original Law & Order series until it was cancelled in May 2010.[66] [67] [68] Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (often abbreviated as Law & Order: SVU or simply SVU) is an American crime drama series created by Dick Wolf`s own production company, Wolf Entertainment, for NBC. The first Law & Order spin-off starring Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler, until Meloni left the show in 2011 after 12 seasons, and Mariska Hargitay as detective, who was eventually promoted to captain, Olivia Benson, now commander of the special victims unit, having originally partnered with Stabler in a fictionalized version of the New York City Police Department. Meloni reprised his role as Stabler in 2021 in the spin-off series Law & Order: Organized Crime.[1] [2] [3] [4] Law & Order: Special Victims Unit follows the style of the original Law & Order, as some episodes are loosely based on actual crimes that have attracted media attention. Family members of the two main detectives appeared in the opening episode. Kathy Stabler, Elliot Stabler`s wife, was played by Isabel Gillies. Gillies played Kathy Stabler over the next 11 years, either as a guest star or as a recurring actress. She remembered that she was about to buy a wedding dress when she got the call to be on CSR. Elizabeth Ashley was cast as Serena Benson, Olivia`s mother.[4] Serena Benson no longer appeared in CSR, but was mentioned several times. Her character`s story as a rape victim who never got justice — and whose abuser was Olivia`s biological father — plays a role in many later episodes. Rapper and actor Ice-T plays Detective Odafin “End” Tutuola in the “SVU” squad room.
Over the many seasons he starred in the series, he became a fan favorite for his portrayal of the intelligent and straightforward detective, but Tutuola`s sometimes strained relationship with his partner, Detective John Munch (played by Richard Belzer), almost never happened. The rapper initially agreed to only four episodes because he was concerned about the “brutal” filming schedule and said in his memoir, “I`d rather have less money and more freedom.” But Ice-T signed on for the long term after being assured that the hours spent as part of an ensemble cast wouldn`t be grueling and that the arrears he would earn as a series regular on a potentially lengthy show would earn him a steady income after the show, like – to quote Ice – a “little money machine.” Kelli Giddish landed one of her first screen jobs in 2007 in the episode “Outsider” of “SVU” as a victim of theft. In 2011, Giddish returned to the series as Detective Amanda Rollins (and joined the main cast). Diane Neal regularly portrayed Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak from 2003 to 2008, after appearing as a suspect for an episode in 2001. Peter Scanavino joined Law & Order: SVU in 2014 as a detective and ADA Dominick Carisi, Jr. after playing a criminal attacker in a 2013 episode, in addition to individual episodes on sister shows “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” and “Law & Order: Trial by Jury.” Before the end of the twelfth season, Mariska Hargitay asked for a reduced workload. In order to exclude him from certain episodes, a plan was discussed to promote his character in a supervisory role. At the end of the twelfth season, Christopher Meloni left the cast because he could not agree on a new contract.[44] Warren Leight became the new showrunner the same year and signed before he knew Meloni would leave the cast. [45] The second major departure announced in 2011 was that of BD Wong. 17. Wong announced on Twitter: “I`m not coming back for season 13, I`m jumping to Awake! It`s great! Wong added: “I don`t know if or when I`ll be back on CSR! It was amazing to have such a cool job for 11 years and to be a real New York actor.
Wong reprised his role as Dr. Huang in the season 13 episode “Father Dearest.” The first season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on NBC on September 20, 1999 and ended on May 19, 2000.[46] .