Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is about to start its 17th season and has already booked two big-name guest stars. Whoopi Goldberg and Virginia Madsen have joined the SVU family.
Goldberg has been cast as a Child Services supervisor who is on trial because of the agency’s questionable policies, reports E! News. Titled “Institutional Fail,” the episode will air on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 9 p.m.
Peter Gallagher, Jessica Pimentel and John Magaro will also appear in the episode.
The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Madsen will appear as Detective Amanda Rollins’ mother and Lindsay Pulsipher (True Blood) is returning to play Rollins’ sister. Rollins is played by Kelli Giddish, who has been an SVU regular since 2011.
Showrunner Warren Leight told THR that Madsen’s character, Beth Anne Rollins, is a “very protective” matriarch who thinks Amanda has turned her back on her family.
Madsen and Pulsipher will guest star in Season 17’s sixth episode.
SVU’s new season premiers on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. on NBC. Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Raul Esparza and Peter Scanavino are all returning.
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