Mariska Hargitay Is 'Grateful to Be Back' as Law & Order: SVU Resumes Filming amid COVID-19

Jodi Guglielmi
·2 min read

Virginia Sherwood/NBC Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU

Olivia Benson is back protecting the streets of New York City!

After the coronavirus pandemic halted production on Law & Order: SVU in March, the stars of the hit legal drama returned to set to resume filming the show's historic 22nd season.

Mariska Hargitay shared a photo back on set Monday, showing herself getting her hair done while wearing a mask.

"It’s all happening," she wrote. "First day of shooting season 22!! Making history. So grateful to be back at work."

She also shared a photo of the cast and crew all wearing masks while waiting in a hallway to start filming.

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View this post on Instagram

It’s all happening. Back in hair chair with @cassihurdhair . First day of shooting season 22!! 😮Making history. So grateful to be back at work. #SVU22 ###WearAMask #safety1st #We’reNotMessingAround #DailyTesting #GetInLine #Grateful #BeyondGrateful #Let’sDoThis #NewYorkStrong #NewYorkTough #newyork #HappyFirstDay

A post shared by Mariska Hargitay (@therealmariskahargitay) on Sep 14, 2020 at 4:46am PDT

Over the weekend, the actress posted an Instagram photo of the first table read for the upcoming season, done virtually due to the pandemic.

"It’s official! The bands back together!" the actress, 56, wrote. "We had our first read thru today. #zoom Remember me in quarantine.#SVU22 We start shooting Monday. 2️⃣2️⃣."

In June, showrunner Warren Leight revealed that SVU will explore the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We're going to reflect New York in the pandemic. What happens to someone who is sexually assaulted during the height of the coronavirus outbreak," Leight said during The Hollywood Reporter podcast TV's Top 5.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC Law & Order: SVU

He also said the newest season will address the death of George Floyd and the nationwide protests in response to police brutality.

"There are ways, we will find our way in to tell the story. Presumably our cops will still be trying to do the right thing but it's going to be harder for them and they're going to understand why it's hard for them," Leight said.

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In addition to covering current events, SVU is bringing back familiar faces. In March, Deadline reported that Christopher Meloni will be reprising his role as Elliot Stabler for a new NBC spinoff series, Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Season 22 of SVU is set to premiere in November.