WE can’t tell you what’s happened to Det. Olivia Benson in this shocking photo from an upcoming episode of “Law & Order: SVU.”
But it doesn’t look good.
Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) is obviously in jeopardy, and in severe pain, as she lies on the ground clutching her neck, which is caked with blood.
As “SVU” fans know, Hargitay is scheduled to leave the show for six episodes this spring while she’s out on maternity leave.
Hargitay’s pregnancy wasn’t written into the show, so she’ll be replaced for those six episodes by “Gladiator” co-star Connie Nielsen, who’ll play a tough-as-nails NYPD warrant detective.
It’s probably safe to assume, then, that whatever has befallen Olivia in this scene will result in her six-week “absence” while she’s off on what series creator Dick Wolf told The Post would be a “specific assignment.”
Hargitay, who’s played Olivia since “SVU’s” 1999 premiere, is scheduled to return to the show later this season opposite costar Chris Meloni, who plays Det. Eliot Stabler.
She and her husband, Peter Hermann, are expecting their first child.