‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ adds Kelli Giddish, Danny Pino

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.
 
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.
 
“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.
 
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.”
 
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.
 
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. 
 
Pino spent seven seasons fighting fictional crime as a regular on CBS’ “Cold Case.” His other credits include “The Shield” and “Burn Notice.”
 
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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