It's less than a week before "Law & Order: SVU" returns for Season 16. Still, there are spoilers circulating about what will happen to the fans' favorite characters. For now, the highlight is Sgt. Olivia Benson.

There's a new guy who will join the team, in the person of Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr. played by Peter Scanavino. Somehow, Benson doesn't like Carisi and he is actually far from the guy that Benson requested for her team — she had been expecting someone who is experienced and empathetic.

Aside from someone rubbing Benson the wrong way, there's the Benson-and-baby-Noah drama from Season 15 as well. In the previous season, Benson was Noah's foster mother. This season will open with a case where Benson has to deal with Noah's guardian.

Apparently, Amaro will arrest an underage prostitute in Queens, who is connected to Noah's birth mother. Amaro decides to go undercover, which may put everyone at risk, including baby Noah.

Moreover, actress Mariska Hargitay, who plays Sgt. Olivia Benson, told E! Online that she is more in love with her character now after 15 seasons of "Law & Order: SVU."

"I love [Benson] more now than ever...I love her because I am challenged by her," Hargitay said. "I never know what's going to happen. She surprises me. [Warren Leight, showrunner] surprises me. This character has evolved, which is the most exciting part of it. I feel in many ways she's a new character because she's gone through so much that has truly transformed her." 

Other than Hargitay and Scanavino, fans of the crime drama series can also expect to see Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro, Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins, Ice-T as Detective Fin Tutuola, Raúl Esparza as ADA Rafael Barba, and Peter Gallagher as Deputy Chief William Dodds.

"Law & Order: SVU" returns on NBC for Season 16 on Sept. 24 at 9 p.m.