Alright Law and Order SVU fans, it’s time to dive headfirst into the world of one of your favorite shows!
Here are some of the behind the scenes secrets that you had no idea about!
1. Where the series was born
The idea for the series came from a case all the way back in 1986, where a man strangled his girlfriend to death and got off on manslaughter because he said it was “rough sex”.
2. An episode about parental abuse was too much for Mariska Hargitay
There was one episode in Season 19 that really hit home for Mariska Hargitay.
It was about a victim getting abused by her father, and Lieutenant Benson was conceived through rape.
She was broken up for a couple of days after that one.
3. Hargitay and Meloni had to beat out other actors for the role.
Specifically, Hargitay had to go up against Samantha Mathis and Reiko Aylesworth before landing the role of Lieutenant Benson, and Meloni had to go up against John Slattery, Tim Matheson and Nick Chinlund for Stabler.
4. Richard Belzer smokes a lot of weed
Oh yes, none other than Detective John Munch smokes a whole bunch of pot . Bill Maher even once said about Belzer, “I’ve never seen him on a set sober”.
He started smoking when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1984.
5. Why they never hooked up
Well, for starters, Meloni’s character was married .
And even though fans wanted it desperately, Meloni said it was better that they always “walked the line, but never crossed it”. I whole heartedly agree!
6. People used to hate Peter Scanavino’s character
Yes, it turns out when he started out Sonny Carisi was hated by a lot of fans.
While you could chalk it down to brashness, we’ll never truly know why they hated him. Luckily, Peter Scanavino never got down because of the reaction.
7. Richard Belzer Has played the detective in other series
Specifically, he’s been Detective John Munch in seven different series, including X-Files and The Wire .
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And the character wasn’t even an SVU original, either! He premiered in a series called Homicide: Life on the Street .
8. Some SVU spouses have been on the show
For starters, Mariska Hargitay’s husband Peter Hermann has become a reoccurring character. He plays Trevor Langan , an attorney who helped Benson adopt her son.
Also, Ice-T’s wife, Coco, has appeared in three episodes.
9. Ice-T’s character wasn’t supposed to stay
Actually, he was only supposed to have a four episode arc , but since he was so popular with fans, they decided to keep him on.
It’s strange, especially since his most popular rap song is “Cop Killer”.
10. Why Meloni left the show
To put it down to brass taxes, he left in 2011 due to contract negotiations falling through .
He wanted a pay increase, and the network said no dice. Truly a shame.
11. B.D. Wong’s gay story came out of nowhere
Even B.D. Wong was shocked! He said in an interview :
“I had no idea throughout the time that I was doing the show for ten and a half years, so it felt a little cheap to me”
12. Hargitay is one of TV’s highest paid actresses
Go ahead and guess how much she makes per episode .
Take a wild guess.
Did you guess $450,000 per episode? If you went higher, then I’m sorry to disappoint.
13. Ice-T was arrested on his way to set
And it was for a traffic violation!
He tweeted later that he thought the cops went a little overboard , and that he was surprised that people think that just because he plays a cop on TV, he gets special treatment from them in real life.
14. Dick Wolf named characters after his kids.
Turns out that Law And Order creator Dick Wolf’s kids are named Elliot and Olivia .
A nice gesture, sure, but kind of a weird one too. In terms of what the show is about, it’s kind of odd, but hey, whatever works.