The 25th season premiere of Law & Order: SVU marked a significant milestone as the series reunited its core characters to celebrate the christening of Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Carisi’s (Peter Scanavino) baby. However, the joyous occasion was juxtaposed with a chilling case involving the disappearance of a teenage girl in broad daylight.
Law & Order: SVU, alongside its Law & Order counterparts and the three Chicago dramas airing on Wednesday nights, stands out as one of the first scripted series to return to the air following the resolution of strikes by writers and actors. Peter Jankowski, President and COO of Wolf Entertainment and an executive producer of all six shows, emphasized the team’s commitment to quickly resuming production after the labor actions concluded.
Reflecting on the swift return to production, Jankowski explained, “So many of the people that work at Wolf Films have been with us for so long that we just know what we’re capable of, and also what’s expected of us.” He acknowledged that the decision to get back on air promptly was a shared sentiment among the team.
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Arthur Forney, overseeing postproduction at Wolf Entertainment and also an EP on all its shows, highlighted the enthusiasm of the postproduction team, expressing their eagerness to return to work and contribute to the production process.
The season premiere commenced with a montage featuring Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) reflecting on her career while attending the baptism. Simultaneously, a teenage girl named Maddie Flynn goes missing in a store due to a misunderstanding between her parents. Olivia becomes obsessed with finding the girl after witnessing her abduction, even though she cannot disclose her role as a witness.
Both Forney and Jankowski, who have been part of Wolf Entertainment since its inception in 1998, emphasized the show’s deep-rooted connection with its core team and praised Mariska Hargitay for her unwavering commitment to setting the tone as the series lead.
The investigation takes a disturbing turn when Maddie’s likeness is discovered to have been used in a line of sex dolls resembling young girls. The trail leads to a man who paid someone to abduct Maddie. In a departure from the show’s typical format, the episode does not wrap up within the hour.
While Benson’s squad locates another missing girl, Maddie remains missing, and the episode concludes with her mother interrupting a hastily arranged press conference to highlight the return of the other victim. The combination of the eerie storyline and the lack of immediate resolution adds an indelible quality to the episode, contributing to the show’s enduring legacy.
Forney encapsulated the uniqueness of each episode, stating, “Every season, every episode, out of all the shows we do — we can talk about one thing in an episode, and we’ll remember what it is because they’re all so unique in their storytelling. That’s what I think makes the series so special.”
