Exclusive

Andre Braugher Returns to Law and Order: SVU...and Takes Benson to Dinner?!

Exclusive! Get a sneak peek as sparks fly on NBC's long-running drama

By Chris Harnick May 04, 2015 7:28 PMTags
Law & Order, SVU, Mariska Hargitay, Andre BraughnerMichael Parmelee/NBC

Law and Order: SVU is filled to the brim with new and familiar faces for an episode appropriately called "Perverted Justice." Welcome back to the fold, Captain Cragen (Dann Florek) and Bayard Ellis (Andre Braugher)! Now go deal with "Perverted Justice."

So what's brought Bayard Ellis back into Sgt. Olivia Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) life? And why are they at dinner? And is that spark igniting?! And how can we get NBC to give us updates on Baby Noah and the adoption every hour?

"Such a sweet boy," Ellis says. "He has your smile."

"If everything goes as planned then the adoption will be official in a month," Benson says.

Be still our Baby Noah-loving hearts.

In the episode, Bayard Ellis takes on the case of a man in prison on incest and rape charges after his daughter, Michelle (Orange Is the New Black's Samira Wiley) recants her testimony. He turns to Benson and the SVU squad for help. They in turn seek out the help of Cragen who was around for the initial investigation 17 years ago. This is Florek's first appearance on the series since leaving in 2014.

Wiley, known to legions of fans as Poussey on OITNB, isn't the only Orange actor popping up in this episode. Keep your eyes peeled for Nick Sandow—Caputo on Orange—as the original detective on the case.

House veteran Robert Sean Leonard, Leslie Odom Jr., Kia Joy Goodwin and Glenn Pllummer also guest star in the Wednesday, May 6 episode.

Law and Order: SVU airs Wednesdays, 9 p.m. on NBC.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)