‘Law & Order: SVU’ Photos: See J. Smith-Cameron & New ADA in Season 28 Premiere

When Law & Order: SVU returns for its 28th season on Thursday, October 8, it will be introducing two new characters, one tied to Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and the other to Carisi (Peter Scanavino). NBC has released photos from the premiere offering a look at both.

J. Smith-Cameron is coming on in the recurring role of jury consultant Gwen Sharpe, whom showrunner Michele Fazekas told TV Insider, is a “peer” for the captain. “Benson is the boss, so when she’s despairing or disillusioned, you’re not going to really talk to your employees, the people who are your subordinates, because as much as she’s friends with them and she’s friends with Rollins [Kelli Giddish], as a good manager, you’re not going to do that,” she explained. “So, I like giving her somebody who’s very, very experienced in a different way, who she can sort of have these conversations with. So J. Smith-Cameron is coming in, she’s great.”

Jelani Alladin will be playing ADA Aidan Hawkins. According to Fazekas, Carisi will be training him — and “initially doesn’t like” him. “Carisi’s thing about him is this is a pit stop for him. He’s kind of a rich kid and he went to Harvard and he’s going to get a few years under his belt, putting away bad guys, and then he’s going to go run for office,” she said. “For Carisi, that’s so distasteful. I will say that Hawkins in some ways has a much more healthy way of approaching a work-life balance.”

In the premiere, titled “Volition,” NBC teases, “When a sexual assault victim struggles to prove her case in court, Benson pursues a controversial strategy to make sure her voice is heard; a meeting with a jury consultant leads Benson down a path that threatens her partnership with Carisi.”

Scroll down to check out the photos from the premiere, then let us know what you’re hoping to see this season in the comments section below.

Law & Order: SVU, Season 28 Premiere, Thursday, October 8, 9/8c, NBC