NBC

Executive producer Warren Leight recently revealed he had toyed with approaching Meloni for a guest spot when it wasn't clear SVU would return after this season. "We had been talking [about], had this been the last episode, we would have tried him to bring him back," Leight told The Hollywood Reporter. "In hindsight, NBC, Dick [Wolf], Universal and Chris all know they could have handled that better," Leight said. "But I think Chris, over time from what I hear, began to realize that the fans were owed a little more."

SVU will be back, but Leight won't. The showrunner is exiting after signing a new deal with Sony. Law & Order and CSI veteran Rick Eid will take over the show with season 18. He's also worked on Hostages and two other Law & Order spinoffs, Conviction and Law & Order: Trial By Jury.

Law & Order: SVU airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)