Mariska Hargitay, Dick Wolf reflect on TV milestone as 'Law & Order: SVU' turns 21

NEW YORK – "In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous."

These iconic words begin every episode of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" (Thursday, 10 EDT/PDT), but they carry greater weight this season as the NBC drama enters its milestone 21st season, making it the longest-running drama in TV history.

As they hug, laugh and share stories before sitting down to talk about the show that brought them together, star and executive producer Mariska Hargitay and Dick Wolf – who created the multiseries franchise – are just now savoring the moment. They've made show business history, but they've barely had the time to think about it.

Hargitay says "it was like the dam broke" when she stood back last month to consider the accomplishment, having played SVU Lt. Olivia Benson for more than 20 years.

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"You have to take stock of these 21 years and the origins of it and how it happened and (Wolf's) vision," Hargitay tells USA TODAY. "And sometimes, for me, it feels like his vision is so awe-inspiring, it's hard to download how one person could not think of one show, but all these shows. And then after 20 years end, he's like 'Don't worry about it, I'll do it again.'"

Wolf says that while he didn't always believe the milestone could happen, he has hope for continuing the legacy of the show (which surpasses the 20-year runs of Wolf's original "Law & Order" and "Gunsmoke" for the TV record).

"It’s been an amazing climb back from the utter frustration of having 'L&O' canceled after 20, and that was one of the worst days of my entire 37-year career," Wolf says. "SVU" co-star Ice-T "was actually the first one to say, ‘Ah, we’ll beat it' … I started to believe, like, four years ago that it could actually happen, and now it has. And hopefully the next landmark could be 25."

Hargitay's compassionate detective has become a seminal TV heroine, bringing a listening ear and a drive for justice to a show that puts "special victims" at the forefront.

Hargitay gets visibly emotional as she talks about the impact of the show – it is not lost on her the heavy responsibility of telling these stories in every episode.

"Especially when the material is so good and layered and complex, you want to do it justice and elevate it if you can," she says. "Because of the subject matter, we all feel such a profound responsibility to do it right, and to do it with empathy and love and authenticity."

With the #MeToo movement shining light on high-profile instances of sexual harassment and assault, "SVU" feels especially relevant in the current climate of forging hard conversations.

Hargitay, 55, has found a voice through her work on the series, taking courses on trauma, starting her Joyful Heart Foundation to support assault and abuse survivors and winning a News and Documentary Emmy for her "I Am Evidence" project about ending rape-kit backlogs.

"These stories are not new. This has been going on since the beginning of time. But it’s getting the attention it deserves now, and it took a while," Hargitay says. "That’s why I’m so grateful for the #MeToo movement and Time's Up because now our voices are in chorus together, and they’re just stronger together and louder together, and now the culture is changing because everyone is aware of it."

Wolf, 72, agrees, noting that "SVU" has never shied away from the difficult topics of power and consent.

The show has portrayed "abusive producers, abusive directors over the years and lo and behold, when Harvey (Weinstein) broke it was like, ‘Yeah, we did that episode seven years ago,'" Wolf says. "As opposed to ‘Law and Order,’ which I said for years 'we steal the headlines and not the body copy,' this show writes the headlines – early."

Hargitay echoes the sentiment: "It’s been amazing how we’ve been ahead of the zeitgeist."

The new season again echoes Weinstein: Last week's opener looked at the head of a movie studio who's accused of fondling a young actress during an audition and forces her to watch him masturbate,

And in a 2011 episode, "SVU" focused on a billionaire accused of forcing an underage girl to give him an inappropriate massage, pre-dating the national attention surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.

Part of the reason for the show's continued success? Teenage girls, Wolf says.

"With a deep dive of the numbers, that’s why it’s still on. We keep rolling over audiences, and as opposed to most dramas, there’s a younger segment that’s just discovering" the show on digital platforms, he says.

There was a point, however, when "SVU" seemed endangered. What started as a two-detective show with Hargitay's Benson and Christopher Meloni's Elliott Stabler transformed when Meloni exited in 2011 after failed contract negotiations.

"This was a classic two-hander with her and Chris (Meloni). To go from a dual-lead show to a single-lead show, and to have it survive and prosper, is a miracle," Wolf says. "Everybody at NBC assumed the year after Chris left would be the last of the show, and she turned it around. It was a little-noted but huge accomplishment. It’s amazing that the entire structure of the show changed."

Thanks to that shift, Hargitay says, "we have seen (Olivia) come into all of her power and all of her strength."

The show has provided strong, complicated characters who "bear witness," Hargitay says, giving viewers a space to feel seen and talk openly about the gray areas and challenging discussions around assault and harassment for more than two decades.

"We could never know what this would turn into, but Dick knew that we had to tell these stories and to write a show that has literally, in a concrete way, changed our culture," Hargitay says.

Adds Wolf: "It has been a great journey."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Law & Order SVU: Mariska Hargitay, Dick Wolf on Season 21 milestone