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‘Law & Order: SVU’ Season 28 adds ‘Succession’ star to Olivia Benson’s inner circle

‘Law & Order: SVU’ will return to NBC with yet another season on October 8

‘Law & Order: SVU’ Season 28 is set to premiere on Thursday, October 8, 2026, and excitement is at an all-time high. NBC has confirmed that beloved ‘Succession’ star J. Smith-Cameron will take on a recurring role in the upcoming season. She will play jury consultant Gwen Sharpe, opposite Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson. The premiere episode will introduce her to fans when it airs on October 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. The showrunner, Michele Fazekas, spoke to TVLine and opened up about how the new character will be a peer to Benson. “The problem with Benson is she's the boss, so at a certain point you can't go to your subordinates, the people who work for you, and talk about how disillusioned you are. That's not good management skills,” she said.

Sharing more about Gwen, the showrunner noted that she will serve as a “nice sort of sounding board for her (Olivia Benson), and somebody that she can talk to.” Fazekas also revealed that she expects Gwen to appear “at least three times, if not more” throughout the upcoming season. With the introduction of this new character, fans will perhaps see Benson receive a different perspective on things.

The showrunner also opened up about the first episode of the new season, as she told TV Insider, "What I got interested in this season was somewhat inspired by the case that we are doing in the first episode, which is a case that really highlights as far as we have come in the investigation of s*x crimes and in how we as a society view s*xual assault and how we define s*xual assault; in some ways we’re still back 30 years ago." She added, "It’s a case that is really kind of disheartening for Benson. And she ends up sort of saying like, ‘Oh, in some ways, yes, nothing has changed.’ I wanted to see what she does with that, and so how does Benson push against her own boundaries?"

​It will be interesting to see J. Smith-Cameron's dynamic with Mariska Hargitay, who has become a household name over the years. Cameron herself also became the talk of the town after her role in HBO’s 'Succession.' She played Gerri Kellman in the series and earned two Primetime Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination for her work. She also won two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for her role in the Brian Cox-starrer. She has also been part of ‘Elsbeth’, ‘Hacks’, ‘Rectify’, ‘Murdaugh: A Death in the Family’, ‘Waco: The Aftermath’, and more.