“Law and Order: SVU” has tapped the first female showrunner in the NBC procedural’s long history.
Variety has confirmed with sources that Michele Fazekas has been named showrunner of the cop drama, having previously worked as a writer and co-executive producer on the series from 2001-2006. She takes over the top spot on the series from David Graziano, who has been the showrunner for the past three seasons.
Reps for NBC declined to comment.
“Law and Order: SVU” is currently airing its 26th season. It has not been formally renewed for Season 27 at this time, but is widely expected to be in the coming weeks.
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Along with her longtime writing partner Tara Butters, Fazekas was most recently the co-showrunner on “The Boys” spinoff “Gen V” at Amazon. The second season of that show is currently in the works.
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With Butters, Fazekas also created shows like “Emergence” and “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.” They were also co-showrunners on the popular Marvel series “Agent Carter” starring Hayley Atwell and “Resurrection.” Other TV credits include “Hawaii Five-O” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.”
Fazekas is repped by Adventure Media and Gendler, Kelly, Cunningham.
The longest-running series in the “Law and Order” franchise, “SVU” stars Mariska Hargitay as Capt. Olivia Benson of the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit, which handles cases dealing with sexually based offenses. Dick Wolf created the series and executive produces along with Hargitay, Graziano, Julie Martin, Norberto Barba, Kenneth Brown, and Peter Jankowski. The series is produced by Universal Television in association with Wolf Entertainment.
Deadline first reported Fazekas’ hiring.
