Season 19 Spoilers & Speculation

[ForeverAlone]

More guest star news. This story sounds like it could be interesting.

http://tvline.com/2017/08/30/law-order-svu-annabeth-gish-season-19-cast/

[JyDanzig]

Also, whatever is going on with the budget, the money is being very intelligently spent.  The show looks expensive, the money is ending up on screen.  That hasn't always been true of SVU -- there were some years in the middle where the production values became garage-sale cheap.  And then those WL seasons where every episode had at least one castmember inexplicably absent.  I would like another detective in the squadroom, but not if they can't afford it... it's better that we get to see the whole core cast every week, however many members it has (the Barba absences are fine, since there are organic story reasons we don't need an ADA in every episode)

[Irlandesa]

On 8/18/2017 at 3:47 PM, ForeverAlone said:

A little taste of what the season premiere will be about.

http://ew.com/tv/2017/08/18/svu-season-19-premiere-script/

The thing that makes me the most excited is that Peter Jacobson will be reprising one of my favorite L&O defense attorneys, Randy Dwyer. 

But for those who fear that this Fin-centric episode will likely also be heavily Olivia-centric, Dean Winters is also set to appear as Brian. I've been catching some season 3 episodes on TV and it's amazing how many episodes either had a lot of Stabler or a lot of Benson with the other one making very short appearances, sometimes not until the second half of the episode.

[sockii]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

The thing that makes me the most excited is that Peter Jacobson will be reprising one of my favorite L&O defense attorneys, Randy Dwyer. 

But for those who fear that this Fin-centric episode will likely also be heavily Olivia-centric, Dean Winters is also set to appear as Brian. I've been catching some season 3 episodes on TV and it's amazing how many episodes either had a lot of Stabler or a lot of Benson with the other one making very short appearances, sometimes not until the second half of the episode.

Season 3 I remember was really weird with that - like a lot of shuffling around, sometimes very little of one character (not just Benson & Stabler, but Munch & Fin too), sometimes pairing Munch & Cragen and Benson & Tutuola...I don't know what was with all of that, some of the episodes were good but it ended up feeling  really choppy and weird when re-watched?  (And goodness knows I've rewatched those early seasons SO many times...)

Pretty sure it sounds like Cassidy is coming back as part of IAB, related to those "allegations" against Benson in the episode description? I don't want to see the Fin-centric episode I've been hoping for dragged down with a lot of Benson drama, but if it's related to some of the way she bullied victims into testifying/pressing charges last season, or the awful mess of events in last season's finale, I'm all for seeing Benson get in some trouble for that.

[wknt3]

16 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

The thing that makes me the most excited is that Peter Jacobson will be reprising one of my favorite L&O defense attorneys, Randy Dwyer.

Sorry to be pedantic, but that's Randy Dworkin. And I am excited too, provided that Michael Chernuchin is personally supervising the writing. I love the character, but he needs to be written by someone with a strong grasp of the legal side of things and who can pull off nuance. That is not something that can be said of the Season 17 writing staff.

 

5 hours ago, sockii said:

Quote

But for those who fear that this Fin-centric episode will likely also be heavily Olivia-centric, Dean Winters is also set to appear as Brian. I've been catching some season 3 episodes on TV and it's amazing how many episodes either had a lot of Stabler or a lot of Benson with the other one making very short appearances, sometimes not until the second half of the episode.

Pretty sure it sounds like Cassidy is coming back as part of IAB, related to those "allegations" against Benson in the episode description? I don't want to see the Fin-centric episode I've been hoping for dragged down with a lot of Benson drama, but if it's related to some of the way she bullied victims into testifying/pressing charges last season, or the awful mess of events in last season's finale, I'm all for seeing Benson get in some trouble for that.

I'm OK with seeing a lot of Benson too. She is still the main character after all. I just don't want to see what is ostensibly a Fin story turned into a Liv story for no good reason like "No Surrender". If Benson got the same amount of screen time, but Fin was the actual protagonist and the one to get through to the victim and close the case I'd be fine with it. If Liv is reacting to Fin's actions and having to deal with it as Fin's boss and friend I am fine with seeing a lot of her. I am not down with seeing a story that should be about Fin and Benson reacting to him being all about how great Benson is instead. And I would be very happy if a lot of Benson's time is spent dealing with Cassidy and IAB (perhaps as a way of saying that they went a bit off course last season and explaining why that she is changing a bit) while the case is mostly about Fin and Barba with the rest of the squad playing smaller roles. I have no problem with Benson playing a large role in the season opener. Just don't pee on my leg and tell me it's a Fin story.

[Xeliou66]

Yeah I feel mixed about the season premiere. On one hand, I am glad that a good writer in Churnuchin is taking over as showrunner, the plot of the episode sounds very interesting, Fin and Barba sound very involved and I'm excited to see Dworkin back, he was always an entertaining character and I like the continuity between the mothership and SVU. On the other hand, I'm not excited for more Benson personal drama and I dread seeing Cassidy back, he's an awful, one dimensional character who serves no purpose and I will be really pissed if they try to revive the Benson-Cassidy romance. The only thing that would make me happy about Cassidy returning is if they kill him off. 

[RafaelBarba35]

Well apparently Stone is coming to New York to become Barba's boss. Not too thrilled about that. I mean I would like to see Barba answer to someone but someone with more knowledge and experience than him (like what they did with Alex and Donnelly. Donnelly was older and more experienced than Alex plus she did a stint at SVU), not someone younger and less experienced. 

Edited September 8, 2017 by RafaelBarba35

[wknt3]

14 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Yeah I feel mixed about the season premiere. On one hand, I am glad that a good writer in Churnuchin is taking over as showrunner, the plot of the episode sounds very interesting, Fin and Barba sound very involved and I'm excited to see Dworkin back, he was always an entertaining character and I like the continuity between the mothership and SVU. On the other hand, I'm not excited for more Benson personal drama and I dread seeing Cassidy back, he's an awful, one dimensional character who serves no purpose and I will be really pissed if they try to revive the Benson-Cassidy romance. The only thing that would make me happy about Cassidy returning is if they kill him off. 

Be careful what you wish for! I can see it now. After clearing Benson of the "shocking allegations" against her she accompanies Cassidy to go after the bad guy trying to frame her, going against procedure and common sense. After failing to call for backup or pay any sort of attention to their surroundings and the tactical situation they end up in a standoff and Cassidy is killed before Liv shoots them dead with an incredible shot from a distance. IAB blames her, but can't suspend her because she's the star so they team up with Brooke Shields to try to take Noah away throughout the rest of the season before she triumphs in the season finale...

[QueenMab]

I don't feel good about this Stone character coming in. If he's coming in to be "Barba's Boss", well his boss is the Manhattan District Attorney and that's an elected position. If Stone is coming in as Executive ADA then why are they slapping Barba in the face ? They would rather pull in an ADA from Chicago rather than give the job to Barba? He was supposed to be the hotshot "tall poppy" with political/career ambitions. Yet the show is systematically taking him down a lot of pegs. Now he has to answer to a younger hotshot they brought all the way from Chicago for a job that Barba has worked his ass off in some very high profile ( and sometimes dangerous) cases for five years to deserve? Are they going to tell us Barba refused the job because he would have to get his penis back from Benson and not "work" with her as much and Barba, the pathetic loser asshole just couldn't do that? I'm sorry but this seems like the "easing out" of Barba, making a situation where Barba has to, basically go away. Then again, maybe Stone will force Barba to detach from Benson and remember he's a lawyer, not her cop partner. THAT I wouldn't mind.

[CelticBlackCat]

4 hours ago, wknt3 said:

Be careful what you wish for! I can see it now. After clearing Benson of the "shocking allegations" against her she accompanies Cassidy to go after the bad guy trying to frame her, going against procedure and common sense. After failing to call for backup or pay any sort of attention to their surroundings and the tactical situation they end up in a standoff and Cassidy is killed before Liv shoots them dead with an incredible shot from a distance. IAB blames her, but can't suspend her because she's the star so they team up with Brooke Shields to try to take Noah away throughout the rest of the season before she triumphs in the season finale...

I liked your post not because this is what I want to happen, but because of the genius of your storyline!  You might just be right!

[Gigglepuff]

I've had bosses younger than myself. That's just part of life and age plus experience doesn't always equal wisdom.  

Barba probably didn't get the position because of his "big secret" from last season, where he admitted to buying a witness (who later OD'd) drugs to get her to testify. Remember he had that meeting with his boss and was worried about his future? That probably has something to do with it. Don't forget, he's not Benson, so maybe the show is actually holding his character accountable for his actions. 

[Xeliou66]

5 hours ago, wknt3 said:

Be careful what you wish for! I can see it now. After clearing Benson of the "shocking allegations" against her she accompanies Cassidy to go after the bad guy trying to frame her, going against procedure and common sense. After failing to call for backup or pay any sort of attention to their surroundings and the tactical situation they end up in a standoff and Cassidy is killed before Liv shoots them dead with an incredible shot from a distance. IAB blames her, but can't suspend her because she's the star so they team up with Brooke Shields to try to take Noah away throughout the rest of the season before she triumphs in the season finale...

I would much rather see that happen than see Benson and Cassidy hook up again. That pairing has no chemistry but Cassidy keeps getting brought back because MH likes the actor who plays him. The writers handled the Benson-Tucker relationship horribly and it would be really stupid to have her break up with Tucker for no reason just to jump back in bed with Cassidy. I'm sick of Benson's revolving door of boyfriends and I'm sick of Cassidy period. 

[dttruman]

On 8/30/2017 at 6:13 PM, JyDanzig said:

The worrying thing in that article is doing an episode about passengers being dragged off planes.  Ripping from the more tabloid-y headlines rarely ends well.

But a Charlottesville-inspired episode could be amazing.  The L&O franchise is always at it's best when it's tackling actual issues of the day.  This is exactly the kind of material they should be taking on.  If this was Rick Eid giving this interview then, yes, obviously the resulting episode would be terrible.  But as of now I have no reason to believe Michael Chernuchin can't pull it off.

What I REALLY like about that interview is that it seems we're going back to a greater diversity of topics, which is exactly what this show has needed for a long time.  The latter Neal Baer years were a trainwreck, but the one thing subsequent showrunners should have kept is that NB episodes weren't afraid to use an initial sex crime or suspected sex crime as a springboard for a totally different type of story.  There's only so many twists you can do on the same basic rape narrative.

On numerous occasions over the years they have taken these "initial sex crime or suspected sex crime as a springboard for a totally different type of story" plots and skewed them to favor certain nonreligious and political views. I just wonder if they can do an unbiased view. Ten to one they will definitely do an episode on the Jemele Hill story.

[WendyCR72]

Looks like Jack McCoy will be paying a visit!

[Lebanna]

If Jack McCoy and Barba don't get to hold an epic snark-off (McCoy wins of course but it's a close run thing), I'm going to be so annoyed. I've only been waiting for this for years.

But I bet he only gets to interact with Stone or something, and I will be left eternally disappointed.

[wknt3]

1 hour ago, WendyCR72 said:

Looks like Jack McCoy will be paying a visit!

Woo hoo! Can't wait. Although they better get this right. Jack McCoy does not take orders from Olivia Benson or need anyone to educate about fighting for victims. If they really want a big event to grab the casual and lapsed fans why not really go for it and give us a DA heavy case including Investigator John Munch?

[WendyCR72]

I liked Jack McCoy, don't get me wrong. But I would think he'd be retired by now or out of office or whatever. Maybe this episode will touch upon that.

[Xeliou66]

Sounds great, I look forward to seeing McCoy again after all these years. I wonder what he will be doing, will he be the DA again, I know they mentioned a new DA a few times but McCoy could always have run again and won, will he be retired, or will he be doing something else. I just hope they do it right and write for McCoy in character and give him a satisfying storyline, I have confidence in Churnuchin to do it right since he has a long history writing for the mothership. I definitely want a scene between McCoy and Barba, 2 of the best prosecutors in the L&O franchise. 

BTW, there are some sneak peaks available for episode one on the All Things Law and Order site. One of them is an arraignment scene where Dworkin is pulling his same stunts pissing off the judge, pretty funny. I'm looking forward to the new season. 

[Gigi43]

I will be shattered if Jack McCoy ends up reduced to being told what to do by the almighty  Liv. Seriously. That would be a breaking point with this show and I'm  pretty resolved to try to stick it out until it's end.

[wknt3]

On 9/20/2017 at 6:53 PM, WendyCR72 said:

I liked Jack McCoy, don't get me wrong. But I would think he'd be retired by now or out of office or whatever. Maybe this episode will touch upon that.

 

23 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Sounds great, I look forward to seeing McCoy again after all these years. I wonder what he will be doing, will he be the DA again, I know they mentioned a new DA a few times but McCoy could always have run again and won, will he be retired, or will he be doing something else. I just hope they do it right and write for McCoy in character and give him a satisfying storyline, I have confidence in Churnuchin to do it right since he has a long history writing for the mothership. I definitely want a scene between McCoy and Barba, 2 of the best prosecutors in the L&O franchise.

 

Or they could simply decide to toss those mentions down the memory hole with Cragen's kid. I never liked them anyways as it never seemed necessary or important to the story and and there was always the possibility of McCoy coming back either for a guest spot or if Dick Wolf ever got his limited series return off the ground to get that extra season. Sometimes you just need to hand wave away your mistakes like deciding that Rollin's sister was bipolar and not an obvious sociopath that was somehow missed by a elite squad of detectives or unfiring Goren over on CI. Of course its pretty easy to have him doing something else too like you said. Speaking of reversing stupid mistakes from previous seasons maybe have him working in DC for the special prosecutor? Jack always was happiest in court going after powerful people who thought they were above the law.... As long as we're saying what we want I really hope they take the opportunity to have him talk about Adam Schiff. It is the perfect opportunity for an in universe salute to Steven Hill and what he meant to the franchise.

[Xeliou66]

I would love for them to reference Adam Schiff, he might be my all time favorite character of the L&O franchise. I doubt it will happen since Schiff only appeared on SVU once, but Churnuchin did write for some Schiff episodes, so it's not out of the equation, especially since Churnuchin is bringing back Dworkin who never appeared on SVU but had 3 memorable appearances on the mothership. 

I hope McCoy is DA again, like I say, they could easily explain those pointless references to a new DA as having McCoy come out of retirement and run again and win. It would set up possible recurring appearances for McCoy, I miss seeing the DA on occasion, back when the mothership was on we saw Schiff, Lewin, Branch and McCoy appear on SVU. 

[wknt3]

On 9/21/2017 at 10:02 PM, Xeliou66 said:

I would love for them to reference Adam Schiff, he might be my all time favorite character of the L&O franchise. I doubt it will happen since Schiff only appeared on SVU once, but Churnuchin did write for some Schiff episodes, so it's not out of the equation, especially since Churnuchin is bringing back Dworkin who never appeared on SVU but had 3 memorable appearances on the mothership.

 

If they can mention Lennie Briscoe on CI they certainly can and should reference Adam Schiff on SVU. Not only since they seem to be trying to bring in some sense of history and being part of the larger franchise, but because it's the perfect chance to pay tribute to Steven Hill who played such a huge role in the success of the mothership and by extension the very existence of SVU. Especially as we're nearing the end of the run. Just like they did on the mothership using Benjamin Bratt's guest appearance as an homage to Jerry Orbach's memory by talking about how Lennie was upbeat until the end and they still thought of him fondly they could have Jack talk about how Adam passed away last year, but he learned so much from him and he was an iconic figure in the NYC criminal justice system and quote him during some conversation about the case. It just seems like something they really should take the opportunity to do if they're going to have Sam Waterston come back.

Edited September 23, 2017 by wknt3
revised and extended my remarks

[QueenMab]

I'm hoping they're bringing in all these lawyers so Barba can discuss the legalities and strategies of his cases with people who actually are knowledgeable trial lawyers with good advice, instead of a know it all freakin' cop. I'm done with Benson telling the DA's office how to proceed for the past five years. I would love to see McCoy tell that mouthy bully to sit her ass down and shut up or leave his office! One can dream.

[RafaelBarba35]

Well apparently Trevor Langan is in episode 3 and he brings devastating news for Benson so that pretty much guarantees that Brooke shields character has something to do with Noah. Question is will the crime of the week or Noah take up more screen time? Not holding my breath. At least Barba's in episodes 3 and 4

[WendyCR72]

17 minutes ago, RafaelBarba35 said:

Well apparently Trevor Langan is in episode 3 and he brings devastating news for Benson so that pretty much guarantees that Brooke shields character has something to do with Noah.

Oh, FFS.

[QueenMab]

In the first episode there are "shocking allegations" made against Benson. What do you want to bet the allegations have to do with HOW she got and adopted Noah? Jonny D rearing his head from the grave? And it takes until the third episode for Langan to tell Benson what she's up against ( Brooke Shields). Whatever they've said about the new people coming on, I have a feeling its all going to take a back seat to a season of Benson's dead eyed crazy woman open mouthed stares and personal drama about that stupid ass kid. Oh well, maybe some good Barba drama will give me a few minutes of interest this season.

[Xeliou66]

Yeah, I knew that Brooke Shields character would be a relative of Noah. That was obvious just by the description of the character. I'm not at all happy that we will have more Benson personal soapy drama, I'm incredibly sick of Benson's personal life taking up so much screen time, I was hoping for something different with Churnuchin, but it's pretty clear Mariska loves hogging screen time and having lots of personal soap for Benson and that Mariska has more influence over the show than any writer. 

On 9/22/2017 at 8:24 PM, wknt3 said:

 

If they can mention Lennie Briscoe on CI they certainly can and should reference Adam Schiff on SVU. Not only since they seem to be trying to bring in some sense of history and being part of the larger franchise, but because it's the perfect chance to pay tribute to Steven Hill who played such a huge role in the success of the mothership and by extension the very existence of SVU. Especially as we're nearing the end of the run. Just like they did on the mothership using Benjamin Bratt's guest appearance as an homage to Jerry Orbach's memory by talking about how Lennie was upbeat until the end and they still thought of him fondly they could have Jack talk about how Adam passed away last year, but he learned so much from him and he was an iconic figure in the NYC criminal justice system and quote him during some conversation about the case. It just seems like something they really should take the opportunity to do if they're going to have Sam Waterston come back.

It was easier to mention Briscoe on CI since Logan, Briscoe's former partner, was a CI regular. But I would love for them to mention Schiff, who's a legendary and popular character 

[ForeverAlone]

Here is another interview with Michael Chernuchin. Most of the stuff we have already read in previous interviews, but it does reinforce where he wants to go with the stories and characters.

http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/26/law-order-svu-season-19-spoilers/

[MadyGirl1987]

1 hour ago, ForeverAlone said:

Here is another interview with Michael Chernuchin. Most of the stuff we have already read in previous interviews, but it does reinforce where he wants to go with the stories and characters.

http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/26/law-order-svu-season-19-spoilers/

Ugh, sounds like more St. Olivia the Martyr when they talk about how she’s a “broken women” and they are going to “break her more.” Do they not get what made Law and Order popular in the first place? It certainly wasn’t the cops and lawyers personal drama!

Edited September 26, 2017 by MadyGirl1987

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

It was easier to mention Briscoe on CI since Logan, Briscoe's former partner, was a CI regular. But I would love for them to mention Schiff, who's a legendary and popular character 

Well, sure. It was easier to mention Lennie due to Logan and Rodgers (as Rodgers seemed almost a semi regular herself on CI). But good writers should be able to use the franchise's long history and be able to mention those other characters naturally, regardless.

Wait, I said "good writers". Oh, well. ( I kid! Partly. Maybe.)

[ForeverAlone]

SVU has always had its fair share of personal drama, so I am cool with the general concept. But I honestly don't understand why the producers and writers want to keep Olivia as some sort of "broken woman". There are many other stories they could be exploring. They made her a Lieutenant and running the squad, so she is a woman of some power in a fairly male dominated career field. But still have her on the scene investigating like a basic detective. They could do a fair amount of stories exploring the politics and power of investigating these sorts of crimes, while also balancing her personal life. But they seem to think that it is more interesting to crush her, and apparently Mariska is fully on board with this. I guess from an actor's perspective, it is meatier to act parts that are more damaged and broken, but I prefer stories where people actually have their shit together and are competent at their jobs. To me, it is a wasted opportunity to write something different, and it hearkens back to the dark days of season 16 and the endless, redunant Benoah drama.

[Xeliou66]

13 hours ago, MadyGirl1987 said:

Ugh, sounds like more St. Olivia the Martyr when they talk about how she’s a “broken women” and they are going to “break her more.” Do they not get what made Law and Order popular in the first place? It certainly wasn’t the cops and lawyers personal drama!

It's clear that the showrunner isn't Churnuchin but Mariska. Mariska loves the endless Benson soapy stories so that's what the writers write every year, whether it is Leight, Eid or Churnuchin. I'm not at all looking forward to a long storyline of an angst ridden Benson battling Brooke Shields for custody of Noah, complete with MH's painful overacting and endless hogging of the screen with her whiny super mommy angst while the cases and other characters barely get any screen time. I was looking at the episode info today and Barba isn't in episode 2 while Fin isn't in episode 4. This is bullshit, Mariska is apparently demanding so much money and screen time that others can't even be in every episode. This show should be renamed Law and Olivia : Super Benson Unit. cause that's all it is now. I really miss the mothership format where no one character dominated the screen time and there wasn't any personal drama, NBC was really stupid to cancel the mothership. 

[wknt3]

8 hours ago, ForeverAlone said:

SVU has always had its fair share of personal drama, so I am cool with the general concept. But I honestly don't understand why the producers and writers want to keep Olivia as some sort of "broken woman". There are many other stories they could be exploring. They made her a Lieutenant and running the squad, so she is a woman of some power in a fairly male dominated career field. But still have her on the scene investigating like a basic detective. They could do a fair amount of stories exploring the politics and power of investigating these sorts of crimes, while also balancing her personal life. But they seem to think that it is more interesting to crush her, and apparently Mariska is fully on board with this. I guess from an actor's perspective, it is meatier to act parts that are more damaged and broken, but I prefer stories where people actually have their shit together and are competent at their jobs. To me, it is a wasted opportunity to write something different, and it hearkens back to the dark days of season 16 and the endless, redunant Benoah drama.

Exactly. I understand why writers, actors, and other creative switch up a winning formula to do something new and different. But why stick with something that's not setting the world on fire when there are so many new ways to go? It would seem to be the best of both worlds. You get to do something new to challenge yourself and keep it interesting and go "back to basics" as it were. You can leave her personal life broken, but spend more time showing the badass that the viewers fell in love with back at the beginning. And yes show us some of the politics we only talked about before since the star is now in what had been a supporting character's position.  There is ample precedent for this in the franchise too. Van Buren in Season 20 of the mothership was still a great detective and CO even while handling  a huge personal challenge. And she was still a strong character, not a shell of what she had been. And they used McCoy's promotion to show what had been off screen  and give us something new. I guess we'll have to wait and see. It's possible they are playing the usual promo/interview games and they are going to keep up the Benoah drama, but balance it a little better within the episodes and the season. Unfortunately there is no chance that Mariska won't overemote and ham it up through whatever amount of time they spend on this.

[Gigglepuff]

I wonder what exactly happened to make the writers, MH, NBC think that the general audience wants more Noah drama, or is even interested in Noah at all for that matter? 

[QueenMab]

There was such optimism from some of you about this new "show leader". But I was skeptical. I hate to say "I told you so" but there it is. MORE Benson drama with the kid, MORE Benson with dead eyes stare and gaping mouth bad acting response to ...pretty much everything. MORE efforts to make Barba look like the most unethical, immoral ADA on the planet who should have been disbarred a hundred times already. MORE new men for Benson to go drinking and screwing with so they can be "close" and do what she wants. All the guest stars in the world aren't going to make this turkey better. NOTHING is going to change for the better. It sounds like its just going to get worse. MORE MORE MORE of intolerable Benson. I sort of hoped but....NAH!

[Gigglepuff]

I was one of those hopeful people, simply because Chernuchin is an excellent writer. However, he's stuck with MH and the SVU team of writers. I guess what I am hoping for is better overall stories that aren't 100% overshadowed by Benson's drama. MH is obviously a powerful woman in NY, television, and NBC. I don't think she's any more powerful than Julianna Margulies who had a lot of control over her series, The Good Wife. I wasn't a regular viewer of that show, but as far as I know, it wasn't ruined by silly drama and bad acting, so why are tptb allowing this? Does MH have naked pics of someone important? Serious question. Or has MH taken the mommy warrior crusade a little too seriously? Maybe she thinks she's appealing to all the moms watching out there. 

[QueenMab]

The only thing MH seems to have taken seriously is that she is the STAR of the show and is hitting us viewers over the head with a 2x4 to make sure we "get it". Good stories? Pptthhh! 

P.S.  I wouldn't mind seeing her naked pics of Esparza.....:)

[Gigglepuff]

Well, @QueenMab, SVU hadn't had any subtlety for years (ever?). Remember when Benson was sitting in family court during a Noah hearing a few seasons back? And there was the sound of a clock tick-tocking away as the camera focused on Benson's face, then faded away? Oh yeah, that was some subtle and sublime writing right there. Very high-school film studies technique! 

[wknt3]

24 minutes ago, Gigglepuff said:

I was one of those hopeful people, simply because Chernuchin is an excellent writer. However, he's stuck with MH and the SVU team of writers. I guess what I am hoping for is better overall stories that aren't 100% overshadowed by Benson's drama. MH is obviously a powerful woman in NY, television, and NBC. I don't think she's any more powerful than Julianna Margulies who had a lot of control over her series, The Good Wife. I wasn't a regular viewer of that show, but as far as I know, it wasn't ruined by silly drama and bad acting, so why are tptb allowing this? Does MH have naked pics of someone important? Serious question. Or has MH taken the mommy warrior crusade a little too seriously? Maybe she thinks she's appealing to all the moms watching out there. 

 

What she has is the belief of NBC and Dick Wolf that the show cannot succeed without her. And as the show is still profitable and Dick Wolf badly wants to match or beat the mothership's run that gives her a lot of power and influence. As far as the new showrunner is concerned Chernuchin is a good writer and knows the franchise. And we don't know what changes have been made to the writing staff (feel free to correct me if there has been any announcements I've missed), what kind of mandate he has been given by DW and the network, or any of the other behind the scenes details that are so important. Especially just how close they are to cancellation if ratings erode and if they have fixed the process at NBC that lead to all the rescheduling and production chaos. It's possible that Chernuchin has the full backing of TPTB, much like Warren Leight seemed to as far as they were brought in when there was serious consideration being given to cancellation, and that he will be more skillful in his handling of Mariska and the mixture of different elements. So we get something more like Season 17 with too much Noah and too much Liv in the field, but some great episodes without repetitive plots and a bit less heavy handed approach. And who knows maybe even some great courtroom/legal scenes on a regular basis and less emphasis on family and personal drama for non-Benson characters? I'm still hopeful, but I'm still very much in "believe it when I see it" mode.

[JyDanzig]

The thing that I don't like from that is the "broken woman" framing.  Benson is the lead, there is going to be some kind of personal drama story for her -- that's fine, there should be, that's what the show is.  Personal drama of the detectives has been a key component of this series since the pilot.

Where they've really gone wrong before is going overboard on the suffering and torment aspect of that.  Who wants to see that?  Going back to some area of severe, prolonged emotional brutalization of Benson is almost certainly a mistake, just because we've done too much of it already.

That being said, the smart move, as usual, is to reserve judgment -- they do a lot of strange framing in these press interviews, it's hard to interpret how it's actually going to play.

I love what he says about Rollins and Benson developing a true friendship where they're each others key confidantes -- that sounds like a smart evolution and something I'd like to see.

[Aethera]

Let's remember not to judge each other's opinions - everyone is entitled to feel how they want to about Season 19's possibilities. 

[dttruman]

On 9/22/2017 at 8:24 PM, wknt3 said:

 

If they can mention Lennie Briscoe on CI they certainly can and should reference Adam Schiff on SVU. Not only since they seem to be trying to bring in some sense of history and being part of the larger franchise, but because it's the perfect chance to pay tribute to Steven Hill who played such a huge role in the success of the mothership and by extension the very existence of SVU. Especially as we're nearing the end of the run. Just like they did on the mothership using Benjamin Bratt's guest appearance as an homage to Jerry Orbach's memory by talking about how Lennie was upbeat until the end and they still thought of him fondly they could have Jack talk about how Adam passed away last year, but he learned so much from him and he was an iconic figure in the NYC criminal justice system and quote him during some conversation about the case. It just seems like something they really should take the opportunity to do if they're going to have Sam Waterston come back.

If they want to impress me, I think they should introduce a character that is a police detective who is also Lenny Brisco's nephew. But all that is, is wishful thinking. The only way I think they would let this happens, would be if Benson would heroically save his life or something.

[JyDanzig]

38 minutes ago, dttruman said:

If they want to impress me, I think they should introduce a character that is a police detective who is also Lenny Brisco's nephew. But all that is, is wishful thinking. The only way I think they would let this happens, would be if Benson would heroically save his life or something.

They had Ken Briscoe in the first 13!  Played by Chris Orbach.  I'm trying to remember what his exact relation to Lennie was?

He shot another appearance in "Manhattan Vigil", which was some milestone ep (400?), but it was cut.

[Jaded]

Brooke Shields was on Watch What Happens Live tonight on Bravo. She didn't mention details of her SVU role until it came time for the after show online. She said her character impacts Olivia's personal life in a big way and that she'll  be there for at least 6 episodes. After giving those details she went on about what a great person MH is and how great it was to work with her.

[Ice Princess]

Hate to say but I've become bored and done with svu. I agree it's just become Olivia Benson svu. All about her and her issues and non stop hogling of every frame. The promotion should bring amazing story lines. But writers have fallen asleep and so have I. Gonna take a break from the show because its just not interesting anymore. 

They need to go back to basics. Stories from the headlines and stories about detective work and a.d.a. work. The writers and producers have lost their touch and need to crawl out of MH's ass. It isn't hee show. She's a cast member of many. 

If she wants more get a talk show or star in a 1/2 hr sitcom a day in the life of Beson. Bring back the good detective work and the great stories that are taken from the headlines. 

[ForeverAlone]

As someone who has been following the news the last couple weeks, it has been interesting to see the growing evidence of corruption on the part of the real world Manhattan DA. Now with all the revelations about how the DA tanked a fairly solid case against Harvey Weinstein built by the actual SVU, it would be very interesting to see SVU the show have a story like that. That is the sort of ripped from the headlines I want to see.

[CheetaraThunder]

I was wondering why Carisi’s subplot wasn’t shown...it may be for next weeks episode:

 

19x05 Complicated: “A young woman is found wandering alone in Central Park resulting in the reopening of a 10-year-old case. Carisi lands in hot water due to his conversations with a reporter.”

19x06 Unintended Consequences: “When a teenaged girl is found dead, Rollins goes undercover at a high-end rehab center where she was last seen alive. Meanwhile, Benson tries to overcome her doubts about Sheila.

 

Seems like the one without a Olivia and Sheila was this weeks episode and Carisi is for next week.../I hope so at least. Plus, it kind of fits with the episode 6 title.

[ForeverAlone]

Oooooh boy. Does this mean that this episode won't feature any of the rest of the cast, and it will just be Olivia being St. Olivia? Hmmmm...if so, not good for me. Where's my episode of Rafael just being Rafael, kicking ass in court without any assist from Olivia? That is the episode I want to see. :) :) :) 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/law-order-svu-season-19-melora-walters-joanna-going-cast-1052898

[QueenMab]

What do you want to bet Stone comes in as EADA and pulls Barba off of sex crime cases. Pulls him away from mommy Olivia. Can't work together drink together screw together anymore. Horrors!! Says Barba is too close....needs to back away and try other kinds of cases. Me, I couldn't be happier if that happened. Those two should NEVER have been connected in such a silly, mutually validating pity party way. But....plenty there for MH to open her mouth wide and stare in crazy panic...her version of dramatic acting. Can't wait. Please don't give us Barba and Benson going through so much shit they bind together for eternity. YUCK!

[Xeliou66]

Great, just what we need, an episode entirely devoted to Benson and MH's over dramatic acting. This show should be renamed the Mariska Hargitay Hour. I'm disgusted with this season and incredibly disappointed in Churnuchin, I thought he would turn the show around, instead he's just shoving Mariska down our throats even more, he's just acting as her puppet just like Warren and Eid did. After a good first 2 episodes this season has been bad.