Could Law & Order: SVU Survive Without Olivia Benson? Fans Weigh In
Law & Order: SVU is the longest-running primetime live-action series in the history of American TV, currently at its 24th season (though at terms of episode count it is still in the third place so far).
And throughout those 24 seasons, character of Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay ) remained at the center of the series. She is the only character from the main cast who was present in every season so far.
Starting as a Junior Detective, she worked her way up to the rank of Captain of the squad. All the horrors she witnessed only strengthened her resolve to go above and beyond the call of duty, instead of making her jaded.
Within the series, she is one of NYPD's key assets. From outside, she is the series' cornerstone. Law & Order: SVU without her is difficult to imagine.
However, Mariska Hargitay is 59 now. Even if she never gets tired of the series, at her age health problems can strike unexpectedly.
Consequently, fans of SVU sometimes ask themselves, whether they are going to keep watching, if she is ever to leave.
And the most common answer is "no". For example, as one popular answer on Reddit explained:
"Had Mariska left at the same time Chris did, I very likely would've given it a chance (particularly with Fin, Munch and Cragen all still there) – that is probably the point it could've pivoted to an ER-style cast with detectives rotating in and out every few years.
But Mariska is the center of the universe of that show and has been for a decade plus now."
"Chris" here is Christopher Meloni, who played Elliot Stabler, the character who formed the second half of the lead character duo during early seasons of Law & Order: SVU. He left the series for a long time after Season 12.
As the same Redditor concluded:
"Much like how there won't be a Grey's Anatomy without Ellen Pompeo, once Mariska is done with SVU, SVU should be done too."
And looks like his opinion reflects the broad consensus of the Reddit community, given all the upvotes and most of the other answers in that thread being in agreement.