'Law & Order: SVU' Renewed for Season 16
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" has been renewed for season 16 and fans could not be happier. Lengthy negotiations led to a great deal of speculation about whether the popular series would actually be renewed or cancelled, but news finally broke of a successful arrangement guaranteeing the show will continue through next year.
NBC and Dick Wolf, creator of the show, were at odds over renewal negotiations concerning Wolf's salary. He now has three popular series on the network: "SVU," "Chicago Fire," and "Chicago P.D." will all return for one more season. The entire cast of "SVU" is expected to make a return and had already worked out their own contracts for the upcoming season.
"We're up 5 percent on the year," showrunner Warren Leight told E! News. "'Modern Family' is down and 'Criminal Minds' is down, they're still in the Top 10. But it's a tough slot, up against two Top 10 shows, but we're up and they're down. We're up for the first time since 2005 and the critics are responding. You would like to think that counts, but then you get into the arcane – the complicated relationship Dick has had with the network. It's like a very strange marriage that just goes on and on and on and sometimes nobody pays attention to the kids in the fight."
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Actress Mariska Hargitay is now the only cast member who has been with the series since the very beginning. Long-time members Dan Florek and Richard Belzer left this season, while Christopher Meloni chose to leave last year.
Throughout the season, fans knew there was a chance that the show could be canceled and took to social media in order to voice their concerns. "RenewSVU" became a popular hashtag and was used nearly every Wednesday night when the show aired. The season 15 finale will air on May 21, and fans can now rest assured that their favorite characters will be back for at least one more year.
