Law & Order: SVU season 27 will see a significant change for Olivia Benson’s team. The long-running NBC procedural has been on the air since 1999. Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson has been a mainstay in the SVU team since the series premiere, but there have been many casting shakeups since.

Following the Law & Order: SVU season 27 is set to bring with it more casting choices, with the announcement that Kelli Giddish’s Amanda Rollins will return to series regular status, and the confirmed departures of Octavio Pisano and Juliana Martinez. And now another on-screen shake-up is set to bring big changes to Benson’s close-knit team.

Per Deadline, Captain Curry actress Aimé Donna Kelly has been promoted from a recurring role to a series regular for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 27. Curry moved from IAB to help Benson and her team at the Special Victims Unit. She has appeared in 29 episodes across five seasons, with that number set to increase moving forward.

What This Means For Law & Order: SVU Season 27

The Show Is Making Intelligent Changes

Renee Curry (Aime Donna Kelly) smiling happily in Law & Order SVU.
The promotion of Kelly to a series regular makes a lot of sense within the context of the show. Renee Curry is a strong, layered, and interesting character who brings plenty to the table and has already been a part of the show since 2020, so she is familiar to viewers and to other characters, making her a strong addition.

Though Curry was a part of Benson’s SVU season 26 team, she was not credited as a series regular. She wasn’t even included in the iconic intro video for the long-running procedural. Hopefully, the revamped one will finally feature her, alongside the return of Giddish’s Rollins.

Our Take On Kelly’s SVU Promotion

It Makes A Lot Of Sense

The entire team smiling as Velasco walks into the bar in Law & Order: SVU
Because it has been running for so long, Law & Order: SVU is a show that needs to mix things up and make changes from time to time. However, there’s also a need for some stability, as changes need to work in terms of the narrative.

Curry could have been replaced by an entirely new character, but it wouldn’t feel the same for audiences. This way, there is more of a connection to Renee and her journey, as underused as she has been thus far.

Having a more peripheral character promoted to a regular role works well in terms of the character’s narrative journey and their existing relationship with other characters. It will be interesting to see how the show chooses to evolve, and the role Curry might play with a more regular part in Law & Order: SVU, and more frequent appearances.