When will Fin return to 'Law & Order'? Ice-T finally breaks silence on his character's absence
Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola has been associated with 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' for as long as one might remember. First introduced in the Season 2 premiere of the police procedural, Fin has been a consistent presence on 'Law & Order: SVU' for more than 2.5 decades. However, the ongoing Season 27 has seen the character appear less and less. The character, played by Ice-T, is narratively intriguing and never goes out of fashion, working as an undercover police officer while risking his life in the line of duty.
The absence of Fin from many episodes of the ongoing season has been written into the show by way of having him sent away to recover from gunshot wounds following his involvement in a shootout. Speaking in a recent interview with PEOPLE magazine, Ice-T revealed the real reason behind his character's absence from the long-running show, calling it 'basically business.' The reduced screentime is directly proportional to the return of Ice-T's co-star, Kelli Giddish, prompting NBC and Wolf Entertainment to cut costs. The presence of Giddish makes it clear that the network cannot afford to have both Giddish and Ice-T on the show for extended periods.
However, Ice-T is unfazed by the network's decision to have him appear less and less on the show. He reasoned in the interview that he "wasn't really concerned with them working me less because I got so many other things on my plate." He further added, "But I'm just more concerned with getting to season 28, you know, that's what I want to do. So if they feel that that's what they needed to do this year, I'm cool, you know what I'm saying? But Kelli came back, they got new cops in there and stuff, but it's never gonna be the same without Fin up in there, you know what I'm saying? They need a little funk up in there."
Fortunately, Ice-T also confirmed that he will return to play Fin in multiple episodes in the latter half of the ongoing season, "When we come back, I'm in some, and then I think I'll be in a lot near the end of the season. So we've got some good stuff to look forward to." The show's writers had previously flirted with the idea of having Fin retire for good in the aftermath of the shootout, but Ice-T's willingness to continue his character's arc has stopped them short. Ice-T also mentioned his gratitude for the NBC show when he said, "I've been on this show for 27 years. I'm not gonna say nothing negative about that show. They've taken care of me for so long. So I just want to get to Season 28."
