law order svu death

Law & Order: SVU teases shocking character death in season 23 premiere

Kat Tamlin, played by Jamie Gray Hyder will be exiting the show in the premiere episode

TV & Film Writer
September 16, 2021

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is set to return to screens in a week's time and already viewers are on the edge of their seats with anticipation.

MORE: Law & Order: SVU star mourns heartbreaking death of close friend

Despite a slightly underwhelming trailer, fans are keen to find out what's in store for the officers of Manhatten's 16th precinct - including exactly how Officer Kat Tamlin and Deputy Chief Christian Garland will be written out of the series.

And now, it's been teased that Jamie Gray Hyder's character Kat will have quite the heartbreaking exit...

WATCH: Law & Order Special Victims Unit and Organized Crime new season trailer is here

According to TV Line, during the action-packed premiere episode, Kat will find herself in "danger" after hunting down a missing witness with Ice-T's Fin. So, could her character potentially be killed off?

MORE: See the cast of Law & Order: SVU and their real-life partners

MORE: Law & Order: Organized Crime adds new cast members - and one of them is a Chicago PD star!

It wouldn't be completely unexpected as Law & Order: SVU has featured several moving deaths over the years, from Mike Dodds' shocking shooting to Ed Tucker's tragic terminal cancer diagnosis. However, we've not seen a squad member die in the line of duty before, so it would be a first for the NBC series.

Are you looking forward to the season 23 premiere?

Fans were shocked and saddened when it was announced earlier this month that the two stars will be saying goodbye to the squad room after two seasons on the show. 

When the news was first broken by Deadline, no reason for the exits was given. However, the following day on 3 September, Jamie took to Instagram to reveal that the decision to leave was not her own and "wouldn't have been [her] choice". Sharing a screenshot of the Deadline report, she wrote: "Kat's outta the bag… #SVU23 just got a lot less colorful," accompanied by a brief statement. 

MORE: Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay shares health update following horror injury

Both Jamie and Demore first appeared on SVU in season 21. Together they were promoted to series regulars for season 22. Jamie's character, who identified as bisexual, was the second main LGBTQ character on the show, after Dr George Huang, played by B.D. Wong, who exited the series in season 12.

While we'll have to see what really happens to Kat, viewers can expect to see the premiere episode pick up the action "mere hours after last season's finale" and also reveal the aftermath of Rollins and Carisi's surprise kiss and the content's of Stabler's letter to Olivia.

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