'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' season 17 spoilers: 2-hour premiere features a Robert Durst-style storyline
The previous season ended on a very positive note as sargent Benson (Mariska Hargitay) formally adopted Noah after fighting with his biological father for custody, while working on becoming the squad's new leader. Sadly, Detective Amaro (Danny Pino) leaves the squad for good, in order to be with his family.
In the upcoming season, the premiere episode will focus on a highly fictionalized version of the famous Robert Durst case. Durst is the wealthy socialite who was suspected of committing a number of crimes and confessing when he believed no one was listening. The pilot will be a two-hour episode.
The new season will tackle a transgender teen storyline due to the recent hype following Caitlyn Jenner's interview with Diane Sawyer. Other storylines include detective Amanda Rollins getting obsessed with a case and the return of the murderous serial killer Greg Yates. Yates is said to appear in the premiere episode, and fans believe this will be done Hannibal Lecter style.
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In the forthcoming season, fans will get to see the return of Amanda Rollins' (Kelli Giddish) family, in particular her mother and her sister. Showrunner Warren Leight spoke about the arrival of Rollins' family and how it complicates her life. "Even if their intent is to be supportive, and I'm not even sure it is, her family showing up is not a great thing for her — nothing good comes from seeing her sister or her mother," he said.
Actress Kelli Giddish also talked about what is next for her character. "Rollins, I think it's so cool to really see her get enveloped by a case and maybe a subject. I think maybe you'll see her become a little obsessed with that. The beginning of next season is so great. We're in the midst of production of season 17 now, we're dealing with transgender already, you know. They're on top of things as always," she said.
This season could even feature a four-way crossover with "Chicago Fire," "Chicago P.D.," and "Chicago Med." Dick Wolf is the mastermind behind all these shows. However, it is unsure how Wolf will go about doing that.
Actress Mariska Hargitay will direct an episode in the brand-new season, according to showrunner Warren Leight. "Of course Mariska will direct again this year. After 17 seasons, she's in a class of her own," he tweeted. Hargitay has directed two episodes namely "Criminal Stories" and "Padre Sandunguero."
"Law & Order: SVU" returns on Sep. 23.
