‘Law & Order’ Stars Tease Upcoming Seasons of ‘SVU’ and ‘OC’ After That Tragic Crossover Finale

“Viewers will be able to go home with us and see what’s going on outside of the squad room,” teased Ainsley Seiger, as Peter Scanavino and Danielle Moné Truitt also weighed in during the 25th anniversary celebration of the Mariska Hargitay-starrer.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Peter Scanavino, along with Danielle Moné Truitt and Ainsley Seiger, who star on the series’ spinoff Law & Order: Organized Crime, shared with The Hollywood Reporter what viewers can expect from their upcoming seasons.

The SVU season 24 finale saw the unit team up with the OC crew in a crossover episode to track down the creator of Shadowërk, a rape-and-murder-for-hire website, to shut it down and bring him to justice. The story continued in OC, as they got closer to the person who made the site. Once they found him, however, it wasn’t long before the team faced a devastating loss.
When the officers headed to a wooded area to chase Kyle, the creator of the website, Jamie Whelan (Brent Antonello) was shot in the neck by the young man, who then put a sword through himself rather than be taken in alive. As a medic helped Whelan, he selflessly told him to help Kyle instead, so that he could show them how to shut the website down.

Whelan survived but was severely paralyzed and could not breathe without a device shocking his body into motion. Despite Jet Slootmaekers (Ainsley Seiger) telling Whelan she loved him, he felt helpless. He asked Bobby Reyes (Rick Gonzalez) to kill him by turning off the device keeping him alive. Though Reyes refused to do it, Whelan’s father arrived at the hospital and seemingly did what Reyes wouldn’t. Whelan flatlined, and Reyes had to break the news to Jet and the rest of the team.

Truitt, who portrays Sergeant Ayanna Bell, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter at the 25th anniversary celebration of SVU and teased that fans are going to see a lot of action this season, as the team works to overcome some trials — seemingly, the major loss of Whelan.

“Everyone copes with it very differently,” she said. “Reyes is very angry when you see him. Stabler is avoiding. He goes on another undercover job. Jet’s kind of keeping everything to herself. She’s not really showing her emotion. Bell is a problem-solver.”

Seiger said she’s looking forward to showing how Jet copes with the loss. As upsetting as it has been, she explained that it was a welcome change for her to flesh out some of the relationships following such a massive traumatic event.
“What I’m looking forward to most about this season is the fact that we’re really getting to dive into personal lives a lot more than we have in the past, and I think that’s always been a promise that has been made, and it’s never quite been made good on,” she told THR. “So, I’m really looking forward to people actually being able to go home with us and see what’s going on outside of the squad room, and I think that they’re doing a beautiful job.”

She continued, “It’s messy, and it’s uncomfortable, and it’s nuanced, and I think it’ll make people ask questions and really think about the show.”

As for what fans can expect from SVU, Peter Scanavino, who plays assistant district attorney Dominick Carisi, teased that now he and Rollins have a baby.

“I think they’ve got such a solid relationship, and they’re each other’s kind of rock,” he told THR. “And as soon as I say that, I’m sure they’re going to write something to make it all [change]. So, who knows? I don’t know what to expect. I can’t say this or that, but I’m sure it’s gonna be good.”