Ask any SVU diehard, and they’ll tell you each season has a slightly different tone that’s oftentimes set up in the premiere. Not only is it easy to pinpoint the era we’re in within the first two seconds of an episode by Olivia Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) hair and which cast members are included in the theme song from the revolving door of squad members, but there are specific (often timely) themes that are prevalent throughout as well. While Olivia’s hair looks great as always this season, the revolving door is becoming a bit of a problem, and the themes SVU seems interested in tackling this year feel like a complete 180 from a few years ago — and not in a good way.

What Is ‘SVU’ Season 26’s First Case About?
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The Season 26 premiere sees our squad taking on a relatively run-of-the-mill case — at least as far as this show goes. It starts with a group of four law students at the University of New York (missed opportunity to cause yet another scandal at Hudson!) studying and reminiscing about the fact they didn’t get to truly enjoy being teenagers due to COVID. When one roommate, Teddy (Jeremy Gill), leaves to go on a date, the introverted Shelley (Larkin Reilly) asks the more outgoing two, Elodie (Lexi Minetree) and Damon (August Blanco), if they’re hooking up. They admit they are and invite her to join in on a throuple — which Teddy sees through a crack in the door when he ends up coming home early.

Fast-forward to the police showing up at the house to see Damon in rough shape, suffering from head trauma; Elodie harmed by clear signs of sexual assault; and Shelley dead, with blood everywhere. Signs point to Teddy, considering his roommates were all keeping this secret from him, making him feel left out, but of course, nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Things get complicated when a hidden camera in Shelley’s smoke detector gets discovered, there’s an alibi involving chess in a park at two in the morning, and a women’s empowerment group comes into play.

There’s nothing inherently bad about this case, but there’s nothing particularly memorable either. The housemates all have solid chemistry with each other, and there are some fun lines of humor between them during the cold open in typical SVU style, but while there are a couple of twists and interesting details, it’s a bit of an odd choice to begin the season. It doesn’t always pay off when SVU decides to start an arc in the premiere that lasts multiple episodes, but it at least gives our characters some urgent (often personal) stakes — something this episode is lacking. It’s nice that we get a courtroom scene that allows us to see Carisi (Peter Scanavino) do his thing — and a wild outburst on the stand is always entertaining and welcome — but the path to getting there falls flat, not standing out from the dozens of similar plots we’ve already seen on this show.

‘SVU’ Season 26 Adds Another New Squad Member
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Season 26 introduces us to Kate Silva (Juliana Aidén Martinez), who we find out has been on the squad for three weeks now. She may be a newbie, but she’s no stranger to the force, as her father is a Deputy Commissioner who’s been a cop for 35 years. Silva previously worked in homicide and feels she has something to prove, believing Benson is testing her.

SVU has had a huge turnover problem in the past few years, making it difficult to fully commit to the new characters. It seems like, as soon as the audience starts to invest and get attached, they’re ripped away, never to be heard from again. This happens most often with young women. Take, for example, Kat Tamin (Jamie Gray) and Grace Muncy (Molly Burnett). Both infused the squad with a new, fresh energy that both complemented and challenged the attitudes and personalities of the more seasoned detectives but were unceremoniously disposed of after just a season or two.

Silva feels like yet another iteration of this ambitious, fiery rookie archetype, which begs the question — why are we not keeping the squad members we already have? Why are we constantly building from the ground up with slightly different versions of the same character every season? It makes for a frustrating experience. It doesn’t help that Silva doesn’t immediately stand out either with her detective work or backstory. Deciding to join the force after 9/11 is a motivation we’ve heard numerous times, and it seems like the show is going the most obvious route by giving her the pressure of coming from a cop family. Everything about Silva so far is overly simplistic and convenient, with few surprises or unique traits. I hope, throughout the season, I’m proven wrong. And I hope she doesn’t leave right as she starts to get intriguing.

‘SVU’ Season 26 Doubles Down on the Copaganda

Shows like SVU are in a tricky place right now. It’s no secret there are a plethora of serious problems with policing in this country, with racism and police brutality among them. The hostile crackdown on protests — especially ones on college campuses — has been in the news a lot recently as well. SVU has historically been far from perfect at addressing these issues, but for a while there, it seemed like they were at least trying. Deputy Chief Garland (Demore Barnes) and DA Bayard Ellis (Andre Braugher) both added nuance to the conversation.

SVU seems to have disappointingly abandoned that, painting the police to be heroes and anyone who dares question their presence or methods oversensitive annoyances. When making an arrest at the University of New York, a large group of students swarms around to record the interaction, leading to 10 arrests. The Civil Liberties Associate decides to file a suit because of this, and while Benson laments it isn’t a good look, she doesn’t seem particularly concerned about whether her squad was being disproportionately aggressive in containing the crowd. “Everyone in college hates cops right now,” Bruno (Kevin Kane) whines at one point without any context as to why or any of the other squad members pushing back. Carisi complains that the jury will probably hate the cops as much as a group of protestors outside the courthouse.

There’s a disturbing lack of accountability at play from our squad that’s not only thoughtless but dangerous. The episode ends with Carisi musing how crazy it is to think that 12 strangers in America could be unanimous about anything — a message that feels cowardly in its neutrality, especially after spending the rest of the episode making those critical of the police out to be one-dimensional brats without any valid points. It also doesn’t make much sense. Benson has dealt with corruption in the force many times, seeing cops abuse their power firsthand. Benson is known for her empathy, and it’s strange not to witness her display any towards this group.

SVU Season 26 is off to a mediocre start. While the risks the show has taken in the past haven’t always paid off, at least it felt like the creatives were attempting to keep things current and innovative. This premiere is like a step backward in many ways — an indication that SVU wants to go back to playing it safe, continuing to use a dated formula that’s no longer interesting or acceptable. I’m crossing my fingers the rest of the season proves me wrong.

New episodes of SVU premiere every Thursday at 9 PM ET on NBC and are available to stream on Peacock.

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