Law & Order: SVU Finale: Barba Takes Center Stage in Warren Leight's Final Episodes

After five seasons at the helm of Law & Order: SVU, showrunner Warren Leight's final two episodes will be the two-part Season 17 finale, airing May 18 and 25.

[...] he was eventually convinced, prompting a collaboration that birthed one of the show's most beloved ADAs - a passionate Cuban lawyer with a sharp tongue and even sharper suits.

"Law & Order and all the [spin-off] shows have always been procedurals that function with a specific kind of formula," Esparza tells TVGuide.com.

[...] the genius of what has happened over the last couple seasons, particularly with Warren at the helm, is that it's become a really rich ensemble show that functions still as a procedural, but also with the depth and complexity, lately, as many of the other really good shows on TV.

[...] he's leaving to focus on a three-year development deal with Sony, and his departure has SVU fans and stars alike wondering about the show's future.

[...] by putting him center-stage in the finale, fans will get the opportunity to better know the man whom Leight established alongside Alex Cabbott (Stephanie March) as one of the franchise's best ADAs.

[...] I've read a lot from fans online saying they feel that they've got someone fighting now, an ADA who doesn't bend over but who picks up the knife and runs into the fray.

"[...] the fact that it's a Cuban character that I'm playing just makes that extra delicious for me," he adds.

Because I've done many things in my life, but the one thing I've never been asked to play is Cuban, which is what I am.