“If one could analyze it, and analyze it well, everyone would try to replicate it,” says Juan José Campanella in dialogue with The voice When talking about the phenomenon of Law and Order: SVU, a series that is currently in its 25th season and for which the Argentine filmmaker has directed, so far, 30 episodes. Among them, number 550 (titled “Prowler”) which can be seen on June 18 in Argentina and Latin America exclusively on UniversalTV.
From its premiere in 1999 until today, the series created by Dick Wolf that follows the daily lives of a group of detectives who investigate and prosecute sexual crimes, broke some records. Among them, it managed to establish itself as the longest-running drama series to date.
“This is something that of course we discussed in the set as if to say: ‘What’s wrong with this series? What do we do to keep it going and renew it, renew it, renew it?’ I was just filming this episode (550) when the news came that they would continue it for another year. I think a lot of the success lies in Mariska (Hargitay, actress who plays Olivia Margaret Benson). Mariska has achieved a communication between herself and her character, and between her character and the audience, which is incredible. You don’t know what it’s like to go out to film with Mariska! “I think there is no star, at least in New York, who causes such a tumult,” says the Argentine director.
And he completes: “That on the one hand, but on the other there is also the theme, that of the police and the things that happen. It is a series that advanced with society. Not only in the new crimes, because there are none, but in the new relationship of people with things that have to do precisely with issues of sex and gender, because it is a program about sexual crimes. The series goes very deeply into what was, I believe, the biggest change in society during the 21st century, and that has to do with gender relations. Olivia Benson’s rise from regular cop to captain is one example. When the series began there was no female police station captain. Her rise went hand in hand with the change in society, and I think all of those things have to do with the success of the series.”
Just as Campanella points out, the chapters of Law and Order: SVU They start from cases of sexual violence, but their creators knew how to incorporate them into narratives that adapted to the discussions and problems installed on the media agenda not only in the United States, but also in other countries around the world.
Law and Order: SVU It evolved with society and in its current story continues to be committed to reflecting contemporary social problems (often even based on real headlines). Throughout its more than 500 chapters, topics such as sexual violence in the army, human trafficking, racism, police brutality, the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movement, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, as well as the role of social media in sexual crimes and more.
The end that did not come
At the end of season 12, in 2011, Law and Order: SVU experienced a change that many assumed would be the beginning of the end. Christopher Meloni, actor who played Detective Elliot Stabler and partner of Olivia Benson, co-star played by Mariska Hargitay, resigned from the series.
This unexpected plot twist that dismantled the specialized NYPD team that had managed to win the hearts of audiences for more than a decade, felt like one of those exits that are difficult to overcome, but to date they are already more the seasons carried out without Meloni than with him.
“They told me that there came a time, when Chris (Meloni) left, when they thought that the series was going to last one more season, or two more at most, but the series managed to find a new lease of life, and nothing… it lasted 13 more seasons and it goes on,” Campanella acknowledges.
“There comes a time when familiarity not only doesn’t tire you, but you end up looking for it. Especially, and this is occurring to me now because it is something that happens to me, at a time when there is so much change, where there are so many new people, so many seasons, so many new shows with actors you don’t know. In that context, returning to something that is familiar to you, with faces that you recognize, is satisfying,” says the director.
And he adds: “But there are also changes, and these may be more subtle, but we as directors, and the authors of the series, every year we see that fiction takes different paths, that it explores certain different facets without losing the essence of what the program is. It is a very wise mix between the familiar and the different.”
–This is not the first chapter you have directed of “Law and Order: SVU.” You have already been directed for 30 years and have plans to do more. What do you feel that continuing to be involved in a program of these characteristics brings you as a filmmaker?
–I love television. Without having directed six years Law and Order: SVU I couldn’t have done The Secret in Their Eyes (N. del R: Argentine film directed by Campanella and winner of the Oscar Award for best foreign language film in 2010). A lot of The Secret in Their Eyes is learning Law and Order: SVU and reaction to things he couldn’t do in the series. That is, there is a direct relationship, and there is the back and forth. At that moment in Law and order Only the procedural issue was addressed, the personal issues of the police officers were not touched upon, and that was something that I wanted to add in The Secret in Their Eyes. After Law and Order: SVU It’s not that it takes it from the movie, but that it evolves in that sense as well and well… the truth is that I love it.
Then he adds more about the genre: “Police crime is a genre that I love and when it is amalgamated with real drama it is a virtuous mix for me that I love to direct. Each chapter of Law and Order: SVU represents a surprise. There are very few chapters that it is planned that I will be in, such as the return of Christopher Meloni, or chapter 550, in which I know what it is going to be about. Now, for example, I have four more dates, I am going to direct four chapters in the year but it is not known which ones, because not even the authors know what they are going to be about. This is something that keeps you absolutely fresh, surprises you all the time, and the truth is that it is fabulous gymnastics. I really like that about television, that it forces you to have that waist.”
An industry in danger?
In 2023 there was one of the most extensive strikes in Hollywood. Screenwriters and actors stopped activity and delayed the release/production of several productions not only with the intention of achieving a better salary agreement, but also with the interest of regulating and establishing clear standards regarding several issues, including the use, scope and limitations of Artificial Intelligence.
–As a creator and screenwriter, what analysis do you make of the use of Artificial Intelligence in entertainment? Is it really a threat to workers in the industry?
–Look, there are many things, Artificial Intelligence is enormous. Furthermore, now things that have existed for 10 years are called Artificial Intelligence and at that time no one said anything. There are certain things that seem barbaric to me, that are good search tools, and that replace a lot of work, just as happened with Google at the time. They are tools. I believe that Artificial Intelligence is a great collector and processor of already existing data, it is not a creator. Everything he does can be done “in the style of”, and it is always a bad copy of that. Personally I think that the true creator will not be replaced, but the mediocre one will be. Because the mediocre creator is also a data collector and processor, but slower than Artificial Intelligence. In any case, I agree that it is something that has to be controlled and monitored, but in no way stopped.
–I can’t help but ask you about Argentine cinema, and your perception of the local industry. Is in danger?
–What happens with cinema, which goes beyond Argentine cinema in particular, is that it is dying. I think it is a phenomenon that must be analyzed from the point of view of what is happening with cinema in general, and that is that it is losing these rounds of a fight that will continue, and we hope that at some point it will be reversed. But this rounds you are losing them. And if Hollywood cinema is losing them, the cinema that we make from Argentina, or from any other country, too, and that is why it is going through a very bad time. And here I am referring to cinema seen in the cinema, right? For me, cinema is that, it is the big screen and the dark place, in your house it is already television. It’s something else.
And about the ending, he concludes: “The reality is that people no longer go to the movies, and they have been educated in recent years not to go, because in just two weeks the movie is already on TV. And if it goes, it goes only once. Seeing a movie twice in the cinema is already dead, it is unthinkable. So this must be taken into account, because you cannot legislate against a mountain either. It seems to me that everything must be analyzed, but it is very difficult. As always, our discussions do not focus on what happens, but on what one thinks, on perceptions, and everything is always framed within a political struggle. This makes it very difficult to debate, because a lot of noise is generated, and it is very difficult to discuss like this, because everything is distorted.”
To see
“Prowler”, chapter 550 Law and Order: SVU directed by Juan José Campanella can be seen on June 18, at 9 p.m., exclusively on Universal TV. Created by Dick Wolf in 1999, the series centers on a group of detectives who investigate and prosecute victims of sexual crimes, child abuse and crimes against the elderly. Starring Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson.
