Mariska Hargitay is speaking out about that heartbreaking death that fans were welcomed back to upon Law & Order: SVU's return. Part of the long-running NBC procedural's season 27 premiere was a funeral to none other than Captain Donald Cragen, who is played by Dann Florek , who left the show back in 2014 when his character retired. In real life, Dann is alive and well — the episode doesn't disclose how his character Cragen died — however, Mariska maintained shooting the episode was "rough" nonetheless.

During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Wednesday, October 15, host Kelly Clarkson noted how "season 27 started with a big loss for your crew," to which Mariska replied: "It did indeed, we lost Captain Cragen. That was a rough one!"

© Getty Images Mariska was on The Ke

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