Season 27 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has returned, and as Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and her elite squad get back to work, she has found herself thinking of an SVU pioneer: Detective John Munch, played by the late Richard Belzer.
After captivating audiences for over a decade as an SVU icon, you better believe ears were perked after Benson mentioned Munch during Season 27’s “Corrosive.” Following Belzer’s death in 2023, SVU first paid tribute to the precinct icon during the Season 25 premiere (“Tunnel Blind”), when viewers learned Munch had passed away after Fin and Benson shared a toast to Munch’s memory. Even in the years following his departure from the squad, his SVU companions could never forget the mythic role Munch played in criminal takedowns, not to mention the sarcastic levity he’d bring to the darkest investigations. Many detectives have come and gone throughout the years on Law & Order: SVU, but few have left as indelible a mark as Munch.
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Season 27 of SVU has been in no shortage of twists and turns, but viewers were treated to a delightful surprise in “Corrosive” after Benson took a little walk down memory lane.
Olivia Benson fondly remembered John Munch on SVU Season 27
SVU Season 27’s “Corrosive” kicked off with the elite squad enjoying the rare slow day at the precinct. These detectives typically have no time to rest amid their many winding investigations, but with no cases on their radar, they found themselves playing a heated game of UNO that Benson was keen to win.
“It’s a brutal world out there!” Benson said after gleefully winning her round.
“Mhm, and an absolutely silent night in here,” Captain Renee Curry (Aimé Donna Kelly) said, commenting on the uncharacteristic lull around the 16th Precinct.
“Oh!” Benson said, rolling her eyes and instantly confusing Curry.
“You just jinxed it,” Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) told her new partner, dreading the pending call that would surely come in after Curry pointed out the rare slow shift.
“Oh come on, I’m a cop, I’m not superstitious,” a dubious Curry told them.
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“You’ll see,” Rollins cautioned, and Benson wholeheartedly agreed as she shared a story from her time on the force with Detective John Munch, a true SVU legend.
“So in ’03, we almost made it through an entire shift without a peep,” Benson recalled, putting her hand on her heart, and adding, “And then, John Munch had to open his mouth and prove to all of us that there was no such thing as a jinx. The call came in 10 seconds later.”
“Alright, well maybe tonight’s the night,” Curry said, looking on the bright side.
“You just double-jinxed it,” Rollins quipped.
“No, I did not,” Curry said, encouraging them all to begin another round of their card game. But before they could lay down any cards, an officer popped in.
“Crime Stoppers just sent us a tip,” the cop reported, mere moments after Benson warned Curry that they’d soon be pinged for an investigation.
“Jinx,” Rollins said smugly as the squad quickly got to work.
John Munch’s SVU legacy lives on
Benson would never be able to forget the conspiracy-loving detective who helped teach her everything she knows, so it’s no shocker to hear him think fondly of their time together on the squad as the current captain of the unit. The reverence for Munch and Belzer’s mythic portrayal is echoed behind the scenes among the entire SVU family.
“Belzer’s so deeply embedded and enmeshed in my heart,” Hargitay told E! in January 2024 following her longtime co-star’s passing. “I think of him with such fondness. He has shored me up, and I have so many memories of him. We talk about him all the time. It’s like he’s still here.”
Giddish added, “I’m just beyond grateful to know him. He was really instrumental in laying the footing for me when I got on the show. I deeply feel joy and pride in being part of this legacy.”