SVU Season 27 Premiere Kills Captain Cragen

The Season 27 premiere of Law & Order: SVU, "In the Wind," opens with a memorial revealing the death of longtime captain Donald Cragen, shocking Olivia Benson and the squad. Benson delivers an emotional tribute while former colleagues — including Dr. George Huang, Brian Cassidy and a quietly reunited Elliot Stabler — attend the service. Actor Dann Florek, who originated the role in the 1990 Law & Order pilot and recently reprised Cragen on Organized Crime, is alive; the episode does not disclose the cause of Cragen’s death. The premiere also advances Season 27’s lineup changes: Kelli Giddish returns full-time as Amanda Rollins, Juliana Martinez and Octavio Pisano have departed, and Michele Fazekas is the show’s first female showrunner. The hour honors the franchise’s past while setting a reflective, forward-looking tone as SVU continues as the longest-running primetime live-action U.S. series.