Law & Order: SVU season 23: Octavio Pisano promoted to series regular

Law & Order: SVU logo

Following the events of the season 23 premiere, it only made sense that a new series regular entered the picture on Law & Order: SVU.

So who is going to be coming on board now? Let’s just say that Octavio Pisano will be around in a far greater capacity. According to a new report from TVLine, the actor will continue to play Det. Joe Velasco for at least the foreseeable future.

Suffice it to say, this character is going to continue playing a complicated role in the story. There are suspicions aplenty that Joe was placed into SVU to be a mole-of-sorts for Chief McGrath, which could make things so much harder for Benson and the rest of the team to do their jobs. McGrath has shown himself already to be obtrusive and more about optics and/or politics than doing the right thing or helping victims.

Is a show like SVU more compelling when there are adversaries? Sure, but it’s certainly easier when these opponents are outside of the unit itself. Of course, it’s always possible that Det. Velasco could prove us wrong; also, once you’re surrounded by people like Benson, Rollins, and Fin, you may very well start to mimic their behavior. This show and this world can be complicated; with that in mind, we like to think that more surprises could be coming.

Remember that there is a new episode of SVU airing on NBC tomorrow night; there are plenty more to come this season, and that of course includes the milestone 500th episode that will be an event like no other. We know already that Danny Pino and Peter Hermann are coming on board for it, and there could be additional surprises down the road.

What do you think about Octavio Pisano being promoted to series regular for Law & Order: SVU season 23?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! Once you do just that, stick around for all sorts of other updates. (Photo: NBC.)

This article was written by Jess Carter.

Love TV? Be sure to like Matt & Jess on Facebook for more updates!