Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , which returns for its 27th season this week, has a special place in many viewers’ hearts in a way not many other police procedurals do. Though there are valid criticisms of the show, the way it handles sexual assault has been a touchstone for many victim-survivors . Star Mariska Hargitay, and the character she plays, Olivia Benson, has become a patron saint for the way people wish they were treated when disclosing assault.

SVU has set many milestones in its decades-long run, and Season 27 marks a new moment in its history, with the series’ first-ever female showrunner finally taking the helm. Michele Fazekas, who first worked as a writer and producer on the show in the early 2000s before departing in 2006, has returned to the world of SVU

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