This article contains mentions of violence and sexual assault.
Law & Order: SVUseason 26 has a larger cast than the series has had in several years. Many of thebest episodes ofLaw & Order: SVUinvolve several teams of partners working together to solve cases. However, Benson has been short-staffed since taking over as captain of the unit, and this problem became worse after Rollins left in the middle of season 24. Benson’s only permanent team member after Rollins' departure was Fin, and she had to rely on several detectives on loan from other agencies.
This will change in the new season, however.Benson will have a full team inLaw & Order: SVUfor the first time in several years. Her team will consist of several familiar characters and one that is new to the franchise. The new cast for season 26 will help the series return to telling the types of stories that have made it popular for a quarter of a century.
Every Character and Cast Member InLaw & Order: SVUSeason 26
Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson
Born July 24, 2025
Actor:Mariska Hargitay was born in Santa Monica, California andbroke big inER, where she played Cynthia Hooper, a desk clerk who was in a romantic relationship with Mark Greene.She has played Olivia Benson inLaw & Order: SVUsince 1999 and has reprised the role on several other series in theOne Chicagouniverse, includingLaw & Order,Chicago PD,Chicago Fire,andLaw & Order: Organized Crime.Benson was not the first detective she played, as she was Detective Nina Echeverria in 1997’sPrince Street, a short-lived series about members of the NYPD Intelligence Unit.
1997-1998
1997-2000
Law & Order: SVU
1999-present
Character:For the past quarter of a century, Olivia Benson has been fighting for justice for sexual assault survivors as a member of the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit. Benson has grown over the years from a new detective to the leader of the unit. She is part cop and part social worker, often encouraging survivors, reassuring them that they can put their lives back together, and connecting them with resources for further support. Benson is motivated by her own history as a child conceived during sexual assault whose mother turned to alcohol because of her trauma.
Law & Order: SVU Season 25 Is Fulfilling The Show’s Biggest Promise For Olivia Benson (& Expanding It)
Law & Order: Season 25 expands its mission to support survivors through an emotional season-long storyline centered around Olivia Benson.
Ice-T as Odafin “Fin” Tutuola
July 16, 2025
Actor:Ice-T was born as Tracy Marrow in Newark, New Jersey andbroke big inLaw & Order: SVU,where he has played fan-favorite Detective Odafin Tutuola since 2000.BeforeLaw & Order: SVU, Ice-T played Danny in three episodes ofNew York Undercoverand had small parts in various shows and movies, but was primarily known as a rapper who had controversial songs such as the hit “Cop Killer.” Ice-T has been a fixture onSVUfor 24 years and has guest starred in severalOne Chicagocrossovers.
Notable TV Shows And Movies:
1995
2000 - present
Character:Fin is the second-longest-running character inLaw & Order: SVU. In the series' early years, he was partners with John Munch (Richard Belzer), who retired during season 15. Fin’s longevity has made him Benson’s most trusted ally among her officers, and he is currently her second in command. During the past few seasons, Fin has often been one of the only detectives working with Benson and is in charge of training and supervising new recruits to the Special Victims Unit.
Kevin Kane as Terry Bruno
June 03, 2025
Actor:Kevin Kane was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania andbroke big inInside Amy Schumer,where he played various characters as part of her comedy and variety show.He is one of the newest additions toLaw & Order: SVU, having played Terry Bruno since the end of season 24. However, Kane guest starred in the long-running procedural several times as other characters, most notably in season 20, episode 9, before winning the role of Bruno. He will be a series regular for the first time in 2024.
2013-2022
2023-present
Character: Terry Bruno has been part ofBenson’sLaw & Order: SVUteamsince the end of season 24. He had been living off a large settlement after suing the Bronx SVU for wrongful termination after he had been let go for being a whistleblower. However, when Benson and her team wanted to close some open cases at his old job, he agreed to help, and has been part of the Manhattan SVU’s team ever since. Fin sometimes calls him “Moneybags” because of the large settlement he received for his lawsuit.
Juliana Aidén Martinez as Kate Silva
April 25 (Year Unknown)
Actor:Juliana Aidén Martinez was born in Miami, Florida andbroke big withGriselda, where she played a character who worked to take down an infamous drug cartel.She also had guest starring roles onThe Blacklist,Prodigal Son, andThe Mysteries of Laura.Martinez is the newest member of theSVUcast and will play new SVU detective Kate Silva, who will join Benson’s team during season 26.
2024
2024-present
Character:Kate Silva is brand new toLaw & Order: SVU. She is the daughter of a long-time cop; her father created a new model for collaborative policing within the NYPD. Thus, the other characters will initially mistrust her because they assume she got the job because of who her father is. Silva will also have a complicated personal life that includes some secrets that come out later in the season.
Octavio Pisano as Joe Velasco
August 14, 2025
Actor:Octavio Pisano was born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico andbroke big inIf Loving You Is Wrong,a show about a group of five husbands and wives living on the same street in a fictional community.Pisano also was inCoyote, a miniseries about a group of husbands and wives living on the same fictional street. He has been part ofLaw & Order: SVUsince 2021, where he plays Detective Joe Velasco, a new SVU detective with a troubled past.
2014-2017
2021
2021-Present
Character:Joe Velasco was originally introduced as a mole that Deputy Chief Tommy McGrath put in the Special Victims Unit as part of a power struggle with Benson, who was not afraid to stand up to McGrath in order to ensure her department continued to support victims. Benson kept him in her unit even after learning his real mission; however, when she learned that Velasco had covered up a gang murder when he was a pre-teen, she insisted he arrest his childhood friend for the crime to prove that he was now on the side of law enforcement.
Law & Order: SVU Supporting Cast And Characters
Law & Order: SVUhas several recurring characters. During season 26, these characters will be seen in a limited number of episodes, but will be important to the plot.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Cast
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is a television series that premiered in 1999. Set in the criminal justice system of New York City, it follows an elite team of detectives who investigate sexually-based offenses, focusing on their efforts to solve complex cases and seek justice for victims.
