The longtime star praises Michele Fazekas for shepherding one of the cop drama’s best seasons.

Mariska Hargitay believes the first SVU female showrunner is what the show ‘needed more than anything’

The longtime star praises Michele Fazekas for shepherding one of the cop drama's best seasons.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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June 15, 2026 12:35 p.m. ET

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Mariska Hargitay on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'. Credit:

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

- Mariska Hargitay thinks *SVU* was enhanced by having the show's first female showrunner.

- *Gen V* alum Michele Fazekas stepped into the role for season 27.

- Hargitay declares that it was "what *SVU* needed more than anything."

Mariska Hargitay couldn't be more thankful to have a woman as her *Law & Order: SVU* partner.

The recently-released season 27 of the powerhouse *Law & Order* spinoff was the first to feature a female showrunner, with *Gen V* and *Hawaii Five-0* veteran Michele Fazekas coming on board. The move marked a homecoming for Fazekas, who worked as a writer on seasons 3 through 7 of *SVU*.

“I had a secret fantasy of having a female showrunner for a few years,” star and producer Hargitay told *Variety*. “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.”

'Law & Order: SVU' showunner Michele Fazekas.

Katie Jones/Getty

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Hargitay is arguably the face of the *Law & Order* franchise, having starred as Olivia Benson for *SVU*'s entire three-decade run. And she views the return of Fazekas as simultaneously "new and coming home," believing there were certain emotional and comedic beats that were specific to her and the origins of Benson.

"Obviously, it was time," Hargitay said of a female boss being brought on board. "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.”

Hargitay and Fazekas agreed that their relationship — along with the rest of the women in positions of power behind the scenes — allowed for a level of teamwork and support that isn't always present on *Law & Order* or in the world of TV production.

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“We were all rowing in the same direction," Fazekas said. "There’s no toxicity. Having worked in really toxic environments, it’s like, oh my God, I don’t know what to do with myself! We all just want to make a good show and not make it harder than it needs to be.”

And Hargitay agrees that they've done just that with Fazekas at the helm.

“As this year has proven with some of our best numbers, everything about it was right," she said. "Being on the show longer than anyone, it was one of the fastest, easiest, and best seasons.”

But now comes the big season 28 question for Fazekas: what role will she write for Hargitay BFF and NBA champion Jalen Brunson?

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