Carisi Seems to Have Gone AWOL on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' — What's Going On?!
Nov. 5 2021, Published 9:32 a.m. ET
Season 23, Episode 7 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit revolves around a series of horrifying killings.
A mysterious New York resident is out there torturing and murdering defenseless women like Tania Cruz (Dela Meskienyar) and Beauty — all in the name of proving to his mother that he isn't that fickle after all. The tragic crimes come to an end thanks to the incredible efforts of Captain Olivia Benson and her team — even though they are one man down. Where did Carisi go? Is Carisi still on SVU?
Is Carisi still on 'SVU'? He was absent from Season 23, Episode 7 of 'SVU.'
Season 23, Episode 7 highlights the jaw-dropping insight and razor-sharp instincts needed to take down a vile serial killer suffering from a severe case of misogyny. After Tania's abrupt disappearance, Liv and the team set out on a mission to unearth new details about the case, ultimately learning that several others were targeted the same way Tania was. Gripping storyline notwithstanding, there's one thing that caught the viewers' attention. Where did Carisi go — why did he pull a no-show?
"New SVU was disturbing as hell. I don't know how the writers keep coming up with mind-blowing s--t after like 23 years. Also, I don’t know what was scarier, the mummified corpses or the fact that Carisi had zero screentime," tweeted @zendayurs.
"I have learned to live with fewer Rollisi scenes than I'd like, but a fully Carisi-less episode? #WheresCarisi," tweeted @84babynyc.
Some scenes in Season 23, Episode 7 left fans in a state of abject horror. If the scenes involving decaying corpses weren't enough, they also had to process the emotional fallout of not seeing Carisi on the small screen.
Unfortunately, Peter Scanavino, the actor who has portrayed Carisi since Season 14 of SVU, has yet to address the unusual predicament on social media. An occasional Instagram and Twitter user, he usually posts about work highlights like the 400th or the 500th episode of SVU.
But Peter likely didn't disappear from the show. He is credited as Carisi on Season 23, Episode 8. His absence can likely be described as a temporary glitch.
Peter's IMDb page doesn't list current projects other than SVU, so fans have every right to feel optimistic about his return. Plus, things are heating up between Carisi and Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) — which should provide enough impetus for Peter to return to the set stat.
Some casting changes are underway at the 'Law & Order' franchise, however.
Octavio Pisano, the actor portraying Detective Joe Velasco, has recently been promoted to a series regular. Increased screentime notwithstanding, Octavio garnered some criticism from fans for reviving the white man energy that was much less pronounced while Jamie Gray Hyder (who played Katriona Tamin) and Demore Barnes (who played Christian Garland) were still around.
Either way, Octavio's promotion likely won't interfere with Peter's work on SVU. Fans likely have little to worry about, as the assistant district attorney is supposed to be back in town just in time for Season 23, Episode 8.
Catch new episodes Law & Order: SVU every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
