Danny Pino and Kelli Giddish have been hired to replace Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay, respectively, in the upcoming 13th seson of ‘Law & Order: SVU,’ The New York Daily News is reporting. NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt released a statement confirming the news, saying “(Kelli) and (Danny) are two great actors who will join a proven cast headed by (Mariska) Hargitay.”

The legal drama’s executive producer Dick Wolf has said he’s pleased to have Giddish, who played U.S. Marshal Annie Frost on NBC’s ‘Chase’ and Pinno, who portrayed Detective Scotty Valens for seven years on CBS’ ‘Cold Case,’ join the cast. “I know this combination will give us the opportunity to explore the world of ‘SVU’ with new eyes,” he added.

The network’s confirmation of Giddish’s hiring come after the producers dodged speculation that they were interested in hiring Jennifer Love Hewitt to replace Hargitay, who decided to reduce her role to spend more time with her family. The news also comes after Meloni didn’t reach terms to renew his contract. Pino was one of five actors who were considered to replace Meloni, who recently confirmed that he has signed onto to appear in Zach Snyder’s upcoming Superman film ‘Man of Steel.’

Written by: Karen Benardello

Danny Pino