The 27th season of Law and Order: SVU premiered on Thursday, September 25. And it came with a big surprise. The hit NBC series stars Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson. And during the season premiere, she revealed that fan-favorite and original cast member Captain Donald Cragen – played by Dann Florek – died. The actor, 75, left the show after 15 seasons because his character reached NYPD's mandatory retirement age. SVU wanted to maintain realism and allow Dann to retire in real life too.

On September 25's episode, Olivia Benson shared: "He was the best boss I ever had. Everything I know about being a captain, I learned from him." The episode continued with a memorial for Captain Donald Cragen, in which Fin Tutuola – played by Ice-T – admitted that he was considering

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