Diane Neal Says That "SVU" Will Return with a "Nitty-Gritty Feel"

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VIDEO: "Law & Order: SVU's" Diane Neal Says Season 13 Has a Nitty-Gritty Feel
Aug 9, 2011
by Robyn Ross


When "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" returns, the show will hark back to earlier seasons, Diane Neal says.





I know you guys started shooting, what can we expect from Novak?

I don't know what to expect but I have to tell you something, that Danny Pino seems really, really good and Kelli is fantastic. We didn't really know how it was going to work and we were all sad about Chris not being there and everyone just kind of fits in perfectly.





Is the tone or the feel of the show different without Chris being around with all of these new people coming in?

It's hard to say because it kind of feels "lighter", which doesn't seem right because this is a serious subject. When we're all in the moment everyone is doing it more seriously.

I think that now we're back on track to what "SVU" was meant to be, about sex crimes, but we're using more steady-cams now and it's got more of a nitty-gritty feel.





Do you know how many you're back for this season or do you just wait until they tell you to come back to NY to shoot another episode?

I really have no idea what's going on, I was on set and they asked if I could stay for another couple of weeks. I was like yeah I can stay here until I'm needed back over at "NCIS".

I'm really happy to come on back at any time.





You know that they brought back Stephanie March as well, right?

Yes Stephanie's back so it's pretty fun. I think that they should put us in the court room together. We would have so much fun.





With Chris being gone do you think that they brought you and Stephanie back because they wanted that nostalgic "Law & Order" feel to stay?

Oh they definitely needed familiar faces because it's going to be really easy for the audience to adjust, but at the same time they want 'here are the normal lawyers' you know...

So with more familiarity around they wanted people to sense that this is the same show.





What's the biggest thing that your fans can be excited about when they see Novak back on-screen?

The good thing about Novak is, like when I came back for the Terrence Howard episode, it's that she only has one objective in life and that's doing the right thing.

Usually this always happens in all of the "Law & Order" shows is that someone wants to get bumped up or promoted, she just cares about doing the right thing. For the most part she just wants justice to prevail.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/SVU-Season-13-1036245.aspx