Facing the departure of Christopher Meloni and a reduced role for Mariska Hargitay, NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” has recruited a pair of new cast regulars.
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The network announced on Monday (June 27) that Kelli Giddish and Danny Pino will both join the cast of “SVU” playing detectives starting this fall.
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“I’m very pleased that we have two amazing actors joining the cast. I know this combination will give us the opportunity to explore the world of ‘SVU’ with new eyes,” states series EP/creator Dick Wolf.
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Adds NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt, “Kelli and Danny are two great actors who will join a proven cast headed by Mariska Hargitay as this exceptional series heads into a very promising 13th season.”
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Giddish and Pino will join new behind-the-scenes presence Warren Leight (“Lights Out”), who will be taking over as “SVU” showrunner for the season.
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Meloni has already completed his tenure on “Special Victims Unit.” Hargitay will be a regular for the first half of the season, but she’s expected to appear in a lesser capacity moving forward.Â
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Pino spent seven seasons fighting fictional crime as a regular on CBS’ “Cold Case.” His other credits include “The Shield” and “Burn Notice.”
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Giddish was a regular on NBC’s short-lived “Chase” and on FOX’s short-lived “Past Life.” Many more people saw her in multiple episodes of CBS’ “The Good Wife” at the end of last season. She’s already appeared on episodes of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
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