Great news, "SVU" fans!
Detective Olivia Benson and her entire squad are about to start filming "Law and Order: SVU" season 22. Mariska Hargitay, who stars as the formidable Benson, announced the news in an Instagram post on Saturday. She also shared a photo of her script and the entire cast conducting a practice read via Zoom.
"It's official! The bands back together! We had our first read thru today. #zoom Remember me in quarantine.#SVU22 ," she wrote. "We start shooting Monday."
Known for featuring stories "ripped from the headlines," it seems that season 22 for the hit NBC show will be no different. The script in Hargitay's post seems to suggest that the title for the premiere episode is "Remember Me in Quarantine."
The coronavirus pandemic caused most movie and scripted television shows to shut down production in March. Fans shared their excitement about the drama coming back to television soon.
"So excited! I’ve rewatched from the beginning this whole quarantine," one fan wrote.
"It's the little things," someone else added.
Fans were also quick to congratulate Hargitay on her executive producer credit, which can be seen at the top of the script. Others had questions about their favorite cast members.
"Okay but where’s Stabler," one fan wondered, referencing Detective Benson's partner in crime fighting over the years who is said to appear on this next season.
Another wrote, "Am I the only one looking for Stabler?! I really gotta chill."
Unfortunately for fans, Detective Elliott Stabler's upcoming "SVU" spinoff series "Law & Order: Organized Crime" has been postponed until 2021. So we're not sure if he will still be appearing on early episodes of "SVU" season 22 like promised.
While the show may be profiling coronavirus fictionally this upcoming season, the pandemic did tragically hit close to home for the "SVU" family in real life. The show lost a beloved member of its behind the scenes crew in March when costumer Josh Wallwork, who was 45, died of COVID-19.
Hargitay paid tribute to him on social media.
"Heartbroken we are. I don’t think I ever saw him without a smile on his face," Hargitay wrote on Twitter. "He brought love and kindness everywhere he went. Always ready with the joke. The SVU Corredor will never be the same. We will miss you Josh. #ForeverInOurHearts"