It is not unusual for crime procedurals likeLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitto see cast changes, but that does not mean those changes are not frustrating for the audiences. Part of what makes the case-of-the-week format engaging is getting to know the characters.
During season 26 ofSVU, multiple characters were announced as departing the show following the season, which meant those actors would not return for season 27. It seems that after that news came out of NBC, however, the network is walking back on at least one of those cast changes.
Octavio Pisano’s Joe Velasco Isn’t Supposed To Return In Law & Order: SVU Season 27 (But He Will)
SVU Announced The Departure Of Two Actors
In May of 2025, NBC announced that bothOctavia Pisano and Juliana Aidén Martinezwould be leavingSVUafter 26. Pisano’sJoe Velasco was even written out of theSpecial Victims Unitat the end of the season.
TheSVUseason 26 finaleactually opened with the squad having a party for Velasco. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) announced that Velasco had received a promotion to Detective Second Grade. During his award ceremony later in the episode, flashbacks make it clear that this is Velasco’s swan song.
That is why it is surprising thatVelasco is actually returning toSVU. Octavio Pisano was on hand during filming of the season 27 premiere. Hargitay used a cell phone to capture behind-the-scenes footage for fans, and Pisano is in the scene being filmed.
It’s not clear, especially after season 26 gave Pisano such a nice send-off, if he will appear in more episodes of season 27 as a guest star.Law & Order: SVUis no stranger to actors continuing to appear after they are no longer series regulars, though.
B.D. Wong, Tamara Tunie, Diane Neil, and Stephanie March all continued to make guest appearances inSVUafter they were no longer series regulars. Tunie’s Dr. Melinda Warner has not even been fully written out of the show, appearing inLaw & Order: Organized Crimeon occasion.
Only Velasco Is Coming Back For Law & Order: SVU, Not Silva
Juliana Aidén Martinez Booked A New Gig
Juliana Aidén Martinez played Detective Kate Silva onSVU. Martinez joined the series for season 26, and though her character did not see a storyline writing her out at the end of the season,Silva is not set to return for a sendoff in season 27.
Some fans thought she might after news of Pisano appearing started making the rounds on social media. So far, there has been no news on that front, though bothKelli Giddish and Aimé Donna Kellywill be series regulars in the new season.
Instead, Martinez has booked a new acting job. She is joining a different procedural, also from Dick Wolf, the same creator as theLaw & Orderfranchise.Martinez is joiningFBIseason 8.
Her character details have been kept under wraps forFBI, but her former Dick Wolf series will likely explain Silva’s departure without her appearing alongside Velasco in the season 27 premiere ofLaw & Order: SVU.
