<P> At the end of the season, Neal Baer resigned his position as showrunner . After the season finale, Christopher Meloni, B.D. Wong, and Tamara Tunie left the principal cast . </P> <P> For the first eleven years of Law & Order: SVU, the set had been located in New Jersey, at NBC's Central Archives building in North Bergen . Faced with losing the state's 20 percent tax incentive, the show moved to New York City into the studio space at Chelsea Piers that was occupied by the original Law & Order series . After the fourth episode of the season, the original New Jersey set was no longer used . Outdoor filming was halted on January 26, 2011, due to a blizzard . Production resumed in the Chelsea Piers studio . </P> <P> This season's third episode focused on an investigation involving a rape kit, which took Detective Olivia Benson (Hargitay) from New York City to Los Angeles to meet Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective Rex Winters (Skeet Ulrich). The episode was shot while Hargitay was in Los Angeles for the Primetime Emmy Awards in August 2010, and aired September 29, before the Law & Order: LA premiere on NBC . </P> <P> Neal Baer left Law & Order: SVU at the end of the season, after serving eleven years (seasons 2--12) as showrunner . He chose not to renew his NBC contract, instead signing a three--year deal with CBS Studios . </P>

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