Ice-T Explains Reduced ‘Law & Order’ Presence

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Ice-T has been a key part of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for over 20 years, but his role was smaller in Season 27 because of budget cuts. He hasn’t said whether he’ll be in more episodes next season. While fans might be disappointed to see less of Detective Odafin Tutuola this season, Ice-T is using the extra time to work on other projects.

In an interview with TMZ, Ice-T revealed the show’s main goal this season was to create opportunities for Kelli Giddish to have a bigger part, stating:

It all came down to business decisions. They decided to bring Kelli back, and with budget constraints, they couldn’t keep both of us on full-time. They told me I’d be used on a more flexible basis throughout the year. Everyone really wanted Kelli to return, and with the addition of new cast members, I wasn’t going anywhere. My focus is on getting to Season 28. This year, they simply planned to use me less, which was fine with me. I asked if they were letting me go, and they assured me that wasn’t the case – they said they couldn’t imagine the show without me.

As a big fan of the show, I was a little bummed to hear that Fin probably won’t be showing up much more. It sounds like, even though he’s been in about half the episodes this season, we shouldn’t expect a lot more appearances from him going forward.

Ice-T Isn’t Upset by Lack of ‘Law & Order’ Presence


NBC

Kelli Giddish was a part of the show from Season 13 to 24, but her character was later written out. Despite fans hoping for her return, Ice-T admitted he feels good about his own time away from the series, especially when he sees fans are upset by his character not being there, as he explained:

It’s okay, don’t worry about me. Actually, I’m a little happy the fans are reacting – it would be worse if people didn’t notice I was gone. I’ll be appearing throughout the season, bit by bit.

The actor stated he wasn’t upset by the decision and wanted to highlight how well the show had treated him over the past 27 years. He explained he avoids making negative comments because he hopes to continue with the program and reach a 28th season.

As a long-time TV fan, I remember when Law & Order first hit the screens back in 1990 – and can you believe it’s still going strong after 25 seasons? Then came Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in ’99, which also became a huge hit. We’ve seen another spin-off, Law & Order: Organized Crime, running for five seasons now, but not all of them have lasted as long, unfortunately.

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2025-11-27 04:18