‘Law & Order: SVU’: Danny Pino Weighs in on Whether We’ll See More of Nick Amaro After 500th Episode
Nick Amaro has returned. The former SVU detective is making a special return to the squad room in Law & Order: SVU’s 500th episode. But is actor Danny Pino returning to the NBC drama for good, or is this just a special appearance?
Danny Pino returns for the 500th episode of ‘Law & Order: SVU’
SVU is bringing back several fan-favorite characters for its landmark 500th episode, including Amaro, Capt. Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), medical examiner Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie), and defense attorney Trevor Langan (Peter Hermann).
Det. Amaro left NYC and the end of season 16 when he retired from the force. But in the upcoming episode, he returns seeking Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) help. He also brings with him a figure from Benson’s past: crime writer and podcast host Burton Lowe (Aidan Quinn). Lowe and Amaro want the SVU to reopen their investigation into a case involving a teenager who was convicted of raping and strangling his prom date (via ET).
Why did Danny Pino leave ‘SVU’?
Pino joined the Law & Order: SVU cast in season 13, becoming Benson’s partner after Elliot Stabler’s (Christopher Meloni) departure. While his character was a dedicated detective, he had a volatile streak that hampered his career at the NYPD. At the end of season 16, Amaro was injured during a courtroom shootout. That led him to retire from the police force and move to Los Angeles.
SVU showrunner Warren Leight has explained that Pino’s exit was a mutual decision, sharing that the actor was ready to move on and that it was time to bring his character’s story to a close.
“It was, at the end, a good mix of the two,” Leight told EW in a 2015 interview. “Danny did seven years of Cold Case and The Shield and then four years here. Even last year, he was beginning to want to spread his wings a little. I understood that. At the same time, from a character point of view, we had put his character through a lot … Amaro’s character is at a real dead end with the NYPD. It was interesting to acknowledge the reality of the way his behavior — however well-intentioned and however he’s trying to turn it around — has painted himself into a corner.”
While Amaro left his career with the NYPD behind, he didn’t give up hunting bad guys. In the years since he left New York, he’s pursued a career in genetics and forensic science, working to investigate cold cases. It’s that work that leads him back to New York in SVU’s 500th episode.
Will Nick Amaro be back for future episodes?
With Amaro apparently having banished some of his demons, is there any chance he could be making a permanent return to the special victims unit? In an interview with TVLine, Pino said his character’s future on the show was up to Leight. But he wasn’t ruling anything out.
“I’ve learned in this business never to say never,” the actor told ET. “I think that the show’s in fantastic shape, it’s been doing incredibly well without me. So, I’m just happy to reconnect and to give the fans something back because there has been so many people reaching out to me over the years, asking if and when Amaro would come back.”
The 500th episode of Law & Order: SVU airs Thursday, Oct. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock and Hulu.
Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook!
