The thirteenth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit debuted on NBC on September 21, 2011, and concluded on May 23, 2012. With Law & Order: LA and Law & Order: Criminal Intent having ended in July 2011 and June 2011 respectively, this season of Law & Order: SVU was the first to be broadcast without any other running U.S. Law & Order series, a position the series has held until the nineteenth season, when Law & Order True Crime premiered.
Season 13 dealt with the departure of Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) from the Special Victims Unit after a shooting in the squad room. Additionally, Warren Leight, coming over from the recently concluded Law & Order: Criminal Intent, became the executive producer/showrunner for the series replacing Neal Baer who began working on a CBS medical drama.
Production
Warren Leight replaced Neal Baer as showrunner, after Baer moved to CBS Television Studios. NBC executive Robert Greenblatt said the network planned to "reset the tone" of the show but have the storylines "still be compelling but a little more grounded". Filming began in July 2011 and the first three episodes were finished mid-August. Production resumed on the rest of the season after Labor Day (September 5, 2011). Casting director Jonathan Strauss also took on the job of co-producer on the show; his promotion was described as a rare move in the television industry. Strauss told The Hollywood Reporter, "NBCUniversal and Wolf Films have afforded me this unique opportunity, and in television, a fairly unprecedented one, to serve as both casting director and co-producer on SVU."
The thirteenth season was Ted Kotcheff's last year serving as an executive producer for the series. He stated in an interview that the departures of Christopher Meloni and Neal Baer were the primary factors in his decision to leave as well. He also thought that a large turnover in the writing and producing staff would help the show stay fresh saying "Listen, twelve and a half years. That is enough. Let this new writer you have coming in have a blank page so that he can maybe recreate the show, and bring something new to it."
Cast changes and returning characters
On May 14, 2011, TVLine reported that Mariska Hargitay would return for a thirteenth season, while Christopher Meloni had not come to terms with his contract yet. Initial reports indicated that she would appear in only the first 13 episodes, and then her character would be promoted to a supervisor position with a new detective replacing her; however, NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt clarified later that August that she would be in every episode of the season. NBC was considering Jennifer Love Hewitt to replace Hargitay. Greenblatt later told TVLine, "Jennifer Love is somebody we've been circling, but I don't know that that is going to happen at all". It was later reported that Jennifer Love Hewitt would not be coming to the show.
Meloni's contract negotiations fell through, and on , TVLine reported that he would be exiting the show. Mariska Hargitay said that "He inspired me every day with his integrity, his extraordinary talent and his commitment to the truth. I love him deeply and will miss him terribly — I'm so excited to see what he'll do next." On August 1, 2011, Greenblatt confirmed that Meloni's character would not be killed off. On June 10, 2011, co-star Ice-T renewed his contract for two more seasons (seasons 13 and 14). Kate Ward of Entertainment Weekly felt co-star Ice-T should have replaced Meloni, instead of searching for a new cast member. Actors Danny Pino, Kevin Alejandro, David Conrad, Michael Raymond-James, and later Rhys Coiro were tested June 21, opposite Hargitay as replacements for Meloni. NBC and creator Dick Wolf aimed for a younger female and male actor as they tried to extend the series' lifespan by several more years. On June 27, 2011, NBC announced that Kelli Giddish and Danny Pino would be brought on as the new series regulars.
Stephanie March and Diane Neal returned to SVU in their roles as Assistant District Attorneys Alexandra Cabot and Casey Novak respectively for "an undetermined number of episodes". Neal told TV Guide, "It's back on track to what the original SVU was intended to be, which is about sex crimes and crimes against children, it's got more of a nitty-gritty feel." She says having her and Stephanie March back provides a familiarity for viewers now that original cast member Chris Meloni is gone. "I think they should put us in the court room together!" she says about March.