Law & Order: SVU showrunner Warren Leight will not be back for the procedural’s upcoming 24th season. The EP broke the news late Tuesday on social media.
“The final day of shooting is always bittersweet,” he wrote on Twitter. “Today was a little more than that. As some of you have already figured out, I am stepping down at the end of #SVU23. The last two years of show running during a pandemic have been arduous, and I’ve decided to take a break.”
Leight was showrunner on SVU from Seasons 13 to 17. He returned in Season 21 and helped usher in a milestone; that was the season SVU became the longest-running live-action series in TV history.
“At least once a week this year a brick came thru the window,” Leight added in his lengthy Twitter statement. “This person quarantined, that location lost, another show fell behind and our guest star was no longer available. Each time casting, camera, design, wardrobe, locations, h/mu, props, drivers came up with a save. And when they didn’t, our editing room, led by the indefatigable genius, Arthur Forney did. Somehow the obstacles pulled us all closer together. The episodes stayed on track and seemed to get stronger the longer the season went on.”
Law & Order: SVU will air its Season 23 finale on Thursday, May 19.
