Mariska Hargitay drops bombshell claim about television before 'SVU' release

Mariska Hargitay recently got candid and talked about why she once thought of leaving Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU).

For those unaware, the 62-year-old American actress is famous for her role as NYPD s*** crime investigator Olivia Benson in an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Dick Wolf for NBC.

According to Radar Online, Hargitay opened up about why she thought of leaving the show, saying, "I said, 'I've got to leave the show, too. I don't want people to think I'm a one-trick pony.’”

She added, "I felt like I was only exercising part of myself. People would say, 'You need to get off that show and do comedy. You need to get off that show and have a talk show.'"

"I thought about why I love television. Television, in my opinion, is extraordinarily healing," the Baywatch star stated, noting that Law & Order broke the taboo and “made people talk about s**** assault.

“Our show changed the culture. And that is the power of television – it creates community, which creates healing. Which is what I've wanted to do my whole life,” she noted.

It is pertinent to mention that Mariska Hargitay has been a permanent cast member since Law & Order: Special Victims Unit dropped its first season in 1999.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is set to premiere on NBC on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 9 p.m. ET/8c.