Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit (season 21)Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit (season 21) Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 21) The twenty-first season of the American crime-drama television series "" premiered on Thursday September 26, 2019 on NBC and concluded on April 23, 2020. This made the series the longest-running U.S. prime-time drama in history. The season is produced by Wolf Films and Universal Television; the showrunner being Warren Leight. This season is the first not to feature Philip Winchester as since his introduction in the nineteenth season, following his departure at the conclusion of the previous season. On March 13, 2020, the production of the twenty-first season was  suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Twenty out of the original twenty-four episode order were completed before production was suspended. The twentieth episode served as the season finale. Cast. Guest. On July 9, 2019, it was announced Jenna Stern would reprise her role as Elana Barth in the season premiere. On July 13, 2019, Leight revealing that Peter Gallagher would also reprise his role as Deputy Chief William Dodds in the first episode of the season. Ian McShane guest-starred in the season premiere, as "a charming and high-profile media mogul who takes on  Olivia Benson and the SVU squad after being accused of sexual assault". On July 30, 2019, it was announced that Ariel Winter would guest star in the second episode of the season, titled "The Darkest Journey Home". On August 23, 2019, it was announced that Amy Hargreaves would recur as Dr. Alexis Hanover, a psychologist tasked with teaching the team a new technique, which requires each of them to recall past traumas from their own lives. On October 4, 2019, it was confirmed that Demore Barnes would recur as the new Deputy Chief of SVU Christian Garland, who is described  as intelligent and analytical and immediately makes an impression on the detectives during his first case. Margaret Cho appeared in the seventh episode of the season, titled "Counselor It's Chinatown", as a massage-parlor manager swept up in a sex-trafficking sting operation. Episodes. <onlyinclude> </onlyinclude> Production. Development. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" was renewed for a twenty-first season on March 29, 2019. Production for the season started on July 9, 2019. On April 23, 2019, it was announced Warren Leight, who was showrunner for the series' thirteenth-seventeenth seasons, would return to the  series as showrunner, while Michael S. Chernuchin would become showrunner for another Dick Wolf show, "FBI". On July 9, 2019, Leight posted a photo on Twitter revealing the first episode's title "I'm Going to Make You a Star". On November 4, 2019, it was announced that Jamie Gray Hyder would be promoted to main cast as Detective-in-training Katriona Tamin from the eighth episode. Hyder had a recurring role from the start of the season. Special. An hour-long retrospective, "The Paley Center Salutes Law & Order: SVU", aired on January 2, 2020. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit