Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 10
The final season in the Tuesday 10pm timeslot.
Quick Facts
- Season number
- 10
- Starring
- Christopher Meloni
- Mariska Hargitay
- Richard Belzer
- Ice-T
- Michaela McManus
- BD Wong
- Tamara Tunie
- Dann Florek
- Episodes
- 22
- Network
- NBC
- First aired
- 23 September 2008
- Last aired
- 2 June 2009
Facts from the source article.
Production
The tenth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit brought in writer Daniel Truly, who became an outspoken figure on the show's production. He was the first to publicly question whether Ice-T's casting was appropriate given the alleged misogyny in the rapper's music. Truly, accustomed to shows with frequent writer meetings, noted that working on SVU felt "slightly lonelier" by comparison. The episode "Lunacy" was the subject of a detailed account by authors Susan Green and Randee Dawn. To create the illusion of weightlessness, actress Kristina Klebe was suspended by cables that were later removed digitally. A still photograph in the episode featured production staff members dressed as astronauts. Another scene required a fight between Detective Stabler and James Brolin's character, for which the prop team built a table from balsa wood and breakaway glass so it could be smashed easily. Early in "Lunacy," the detectives discover that eels have been feeding on a corpse, degrading the evidence. Prop master Anthony Munafo spent eight hours tracking down a pet store that could supply enough eels of the correct size. Later in the season, the episode "Hell" took a stand against the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. Executive producer Neal Baer worked with the Enough Project to ensure an accurate depiction of child soldiers, describing the episode as part of a "continuing commitment to bring the audience stories that resonate with timely social issues." This episode also marked the first time a television production filmed on location at the United Nations building. During season ten, director of photography George Pattison argued for keeping the show on 35mm film, saying, "Ours is one of the last shows doing that... Despite pressure from above to save money, Dick Wolf and our creative producers insist on sticking with a proven formula. And they give beautiful latitude compared with digital." The series continued using motion picture cameras for two more seasons before switching to digital for season thirteen.
Cast changes and returning characters
Season 10 introduced a new Assistant District Attorney, Kim Greylek, played by Michaela McManus, who first appeared in the premiere. McManus described the role as challenging, noting that the character’s intelligence and vocabulary were quite different from her own. Although Greylek appeared in the opening credits of every episode that season, McManus’s tenure lasted only half the run. Executive producer Neal Baer commented that sometimes an actor and a part simply do not fit. Stephanie March returned as ADA Alexandra Cabot in the same episode. Before the episode titled "Lead," March’s last appearance as Cabot had been on the spin-off series Conviction, and her prior SVU appearance in season six had left her character still in witness protection. When asked if her return would clarify how Cabot left the program, March said she expected the explanation to be tidy and logical. That episode was dedicated to the memory of crew member Dennis Radesky. The season finale, "Zebras," marked the final appearance of Mike Doyle, whose recurring character Ryan O’Halloran had been present since season five. O’Halloran is killed in the episode. Baer explained that he wanted to explore how the characters would react to a death in a compelling way, and he informed Doyle of the decision a few weeks before filming.
Cast
Stephanie March returned as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot for episodes 15 through 21. The season opened with "Trials," featuring Sara Gilbert as a rape survivor who had placed her child for adoption, with Luke Perry and Julie Bowen playing the foster parents who take the boy in. Perry said of his role that finding the humanity in characters who might be seen as villains is always necessary. Gilbert, a fan of the show, noted that she is best known for comedy, making dramatic parts like this especially exciting. The role of the foster child went to Jae Head after auditions in both New York and Los Angeles. Mary Beth Evans had a brief appearance as a doctor in the same episode, explaining that NBC daytime's head wanted to integrate Days of Our Lives actors into other network shows. The third episode, "Swing," featured Ellen Burstyn as Bernadette Stabler, Elliot Stabler's mother living with bipolar disorder, a performance that earned her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. "Lunacy," the fourth episode and the first filmed for the season, starred James Brolin as an astronaut who had once been a role model for Stabler. Kristina Klebe played a murdered astronaut, and Chris Elliott portrayed an obsessive enthusiast. Christopher Meloni, who plays Stabler, joked about the confusion of having an actor named Chris Elliott on the show. The fifth episode, "Retro," originally titled "Deniers," critiqued the AIDS denialism movement and was promoted as a major showcase for Tamara Tunie. When asked about Martin Mull's character, Tunie said his arguments can sound disturbingly reasonable, and Mull is clever enough to make viewers pause. The sixth episode, "Babes," cast Jesse McCartney as a chastity advocate. McCartney described the role as a stretch, playing a murder suspect who is a deeply conservative Catholic, calling it an emotional leap into new territory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who stars in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 10?
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 10 stars Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Richard Belzer, Ice-T, Michaela McManus, BD Wong, Tamara Tunie and Dann Florek.
How many episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 10 are there?
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 10 has 22 episodes.
More in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Seasons
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