Mariska Hargitay said Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s 27th season was “one of the fastest, easiest, and best seasons.” And for that, she credits Michele Fazekas, who became the NBC procedural’s first female showrunner in April 2025 after serving as a writer from Season 3 to Season 7.
“I had a secret fantasy of having a female showrunner for… a few years,” Hargitay quipped to Variety in a recent interview. “Michele and I always connected. She was so smart, and those years on SVU were some of my favorites. Her episodes during that time were the best ones.”
With a woman at the helm for the first time, Hargitay noticed a change on set. “We were all rowing in the same direction. There’s no toxicity,” she said, three and a half years after the Los Angeles Times reported that then-SVU showrunner David Graziano had been accused of bullying and misogyny.
“Having worked in really toxic environments, it’s like, oh my God, I don’t know what to do with myself!” Hargitay added. “We all just want to make a good show and not make it harder than it needs to be.”
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Hargitay’s collaboration with Fazekas is “new and coming home at the same time,” the actor added. “There are emotional beats and comedy beats that are so specific to me and to the origins of the character. Obviously, it was time. It’s what SVU needed more than anything, and it was the perfect fit. It’s all the elements coming together in a perfect way.”
Furthermore, the Olivia Benson portrayer said teamwork has made all the difference behind the scenes. “There’s such a sense of, lock arms, ladies. Let’s do this together — and, at the same time, push each other to be excellent, to be great, and know that we can do it and we will figure it out.”
Fazekas reciprocated the praise, saying Hargitay “does not phone it in” and even asked for another take while filming a rain-drenched scene in the Season 27 finale.
Added Hargitay: “Twenty-seven years in and I’m thinking, that’s one of my favorite episodes — that Michele could dig in and write this story that’s haunting me. [Director] Brenna [Malloy] is elevating details and tweaking constantly. We all play hard and play our best.”