JENNIFER Love Hewitt is in talks to replace Mariska Hargitay on Law & Order: SVU.

According to Deadline, Hargitay has closed a new deal to return to the crime drama for its upcoming 13th season, in which she will pass the female lead baton on a new actress, rumored to be Hewitt.

Deadline reports that “for the first 13 episodes, Hargitay’s character Olivia Benson will continue to solve sex crimes alongside her partner, presumably Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), pending him closing his deal. Then Benson will be promoted to a supervisor position, with a new female detective taking her place. That is the role that the producers are eying Hewitt for.”