Benson’s Team In Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Explained

Law & Order: SVU recently revealed Olivia Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) season 26 team, and there are both new and old players involved. Teamwork has always been a crucial part of solving the horrific crimes that the SVU squad deals with. During its early years, some of the best Law & Order: SVU episodes involved compelling partnerships like Fin Tutuola (Ice-T) and John Munch (Richard Belzer) or Benson and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni). However, after Benson became the squad’s head, she constantly faced staffing issues, and at one point, the entire team was just her, Fin, and Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish).

During Law & Order: SVU season 25, there wasn’t time to search for new detectives. Benson spent most of the year searching for missing teen Maddie Flynn (Allison Elaine), with the help of an agent on loan from the FBI, Shannah Sykes (Jordana Spiro), Fin, and new detective Renee Curry (Aimé Donna Kelly). There was some speculation that Rollins would return for season 26; instead, she will recur as a new member of the Intelligence Unit. The Law & Order: SVU season 26 cast will include a full roster of detectives for the first time since Rollins’ exit.

Every Member Of Benson’s Team Confirmed For Law & Order: SVU Season 26

Benson Will Have A Full Team Comprised Of Both Familiar And New Faces

Law & Order: SVU‘s Fin Tutuola has been more in the background in recent years than at the beginning, despite being one of the most popular characters in the series. Fin will be more prominent moving forward as he will likely continue to serve as Benson’s right-hand person. At this point in their careers, Fin is often the one to call Benson out for getting overly obsessed with a case or otherwise acting in an unhealthy manner. Occasionally, however, he’s the one who succumbs to the same tendencies, as seen in the Law & Order: SVU season 25 finale.

Although Fin is often considered the only other character from the original cast, he did not join
Law & Order: SVU
until season 2.

Terry Bruno (Kevin Kane) has been an unofficial part of the squad since the middle of Law & Order: SVU season 24. The character was a whistleblower at the Bronx SVU. He eventually joined the Manhattan office to help Benson close some cold cases left over from his previous station. Bruno will officially be part of the team for the first time in season 26, as Kevin Kane has been upped to Law & Order: SVU series regular.

Octavio Pisano is also returning as Joe Velasco in Law & Order: SVU season 26. He is one of the most controversial members of the team. Velasco was originally introduced as a temporary team member placed by Chief McGrath (Terry Serpico) to spy on the department and report back to him about what Benson’s SVU was up to. Later on, Benson learned that he had been involved in a gang-related killing when he was a pre-teen and forced him to get the boy who pulled the trigger to come clean to keep his job.

Juliana Aidén Martinez is joining the squad as Kate Sliva, an enigmatic detective whose father is Deputy Commissioner, in Law & Order: SVU season 26. Time will tell whether Martinez’s character will be another female detective who leaves after a year or less in the squad or if she will become a beloved team member like Rollins was. Silva was an asset to the unit in the first episode and has demonstrated that she is an excellent marksman as well as a creative problem-solver.

Juliana Aidén Martinez has appeared in Netflix’s
Griselda
and NBC’s
The Blacklist.

Aimé Donna Kelly is recurring as Captain Renee Curry, who transferred from IAB to SVU in season 25. Although Kelly is not a series regular and thus is not officially part of the roster, she appeared in the season premiere, where she assisted with the investigation into a brutal attack on a group of law school students. It’s not yet know how often Curry will be involved in SVU cases, but when she does participate, she contributes ideas and theories that help lead the team to the right suspect.

Who Is Benson’s Newest Detective: Kate Silva

Juliana Aidén Martinez’s Character Is A New Transfer From Homicide

Law & Order: SVU‘s Kate Silva, the newest recruit, recently joined SVU after working in Brooklyn Homicide for several years. She had only been working for SVU for three weeks in the season 26 premiere, and the rest of the team wasn’t sure about her yet. However, she demonstrated an ability to think creatively to help solve cases when she got a homeless man to give her a hammer he’d found that she suspected was used in a murder.

Silva is somewhat of an enigma. The only thing that has been revealed thus far about her personal life is that her father is an NYPD officer who has been Deputy Commissioner for 10 years and whom Benson describes as a good cop. Silva describes him as a “pain in my ass my whole life,” suggesting that their relationship is strained. There also seems to be some tension between her and Velasco over the relationship, as he implied during an investigation that she only got the job because of her father’s connections to the NYPD.

Silva’s reasons for leaving Homicide will be revealed later in the season.

How Benson’s Team Has Changed In Law & Order: SVU

She Finally Has Enough People On Staff To Effectively Work Cases

Benson’s team has been shaken up over the past several seasons, most notably by Rollins’ departure in the middle of Law & Order: SVU season 24. After Rollins left, the series introduced several female characters who did not become a permanent part of the squad. The latter half of season 24 temporarily gave Benson Detective Churlish (Jasmine Batchelor), and season 25 had her constantly butt heads with Law & Order: SVU’s Agent Sykes, who was on loan from the FBI.

Law & Order: SVU season 26’s team puts the issue of rotating team members to rest. Instead of borrowing personnel from other precincts, Benson will be in charge of a full roster of detectives who are expected to work for her permanently. Having four detectives under her command, plus Curry, allows Benson to send out two teams of two on any given case. This set-up more closely resembles the original makeup of the squad room, where Cragen often had Benson and Stabler work one part of a case while Fin and Munch worked another.

What To Expect From Benson’s Team In Law & Order: SVU Season 26

It’s Hard To Predict, But There Are Some Known Quantities

While Silva is new to SVU, the other team members have all been part of the unit before. Velasco will be partnered with the fresh-faced detective, while Fin will be working with Bruno, as he has been during the latter’s previous appearances. Fin and Bruno are both dedicated to the job and will take it seriously no matter what Benson throws at them, while Velasco has been trying to prove himself for the last several seasons and may attempt to one-up his partner or Benson herself to demonstrate he belongs in the team.

Law & Order: SVU
has always centered on sex crime survivors, and the new team will help the series do that more effectively.

Law & Order: SVU has always centered on sex crime survivors, and the new team will help the series do that more effectively. Hopefully, there will be less need for Fin to call Benson out on obsessive behavior now that she has a full team of detectives ready to focus on these important cases. Bruno joining the squad full-time is welcome news, as he brings something fresh and new to the squad room. If Silva can balance Velasco out, Law & Order: SVU season 26 could deliver a formidable squad of detectives under Benson’s leadership.