This record-breaking crime drama returns for Season 23 with a two-hour premiere that starts as Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) loyalty to Garland (Demore Barnes) is tested when the investigation into a sex-for-housing scheme expands in "And the Empire Strikes Back." Ben Rappaport guest stars. Then, in "Never Turn Your Back on Them," the search for a missing witness leads Fin and Kat (Ice-T, Jamie Gray Hyder) down a dangerous path, and Chief McGrath (guest star Terry Serpico) pressures Benson and Garland to secure a conviction.