After the explosive midseason finale, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" season 17 is currently on winter hiatus, with the exact airdate for the remaining episodes still unannounced.

According to CarterMatt, the NBC has yet to comment when the police procedural, crime drama television series will commence. Recent reports, however, state that it will be sooner than any diehard fan of the Special Victims Unit (SVU) team can expect. Mariska Hargitay, who plays the role of Olivia Benson, has hinted that the show will return in January 2016.

The actress posted a message on her Twitter account thanking the fans for sticking with the series for a long time. She also revealed that the yet to be titled episode 10, the first installment to air in 2016, will be about the return of the bad guys previously featured in the series. Lewis Hoda's (Tom Sizemore) return appears to be the signal that many villains from seasons past will also come back to shake Benson's world.

Last finale, the lieutenant came face-to-face with one of her most hated criminal once again. The child abductor was back on trial and this time, he was stating that Benson and her SVU operatives were framing him for a crime he did not commit. Hoda last appeared in season 14, when a boy was taken while in the care of his father. A similar case happened 13 years ago, but it was never solved.

When season 17 returns, viewers can expect that trouble is far from over, as "some pretty bad guys" are heading back to cause problems for the SVU. If Hoda's case was a giveaway, all of them are out to take down Benson for daring to send them behind bars. As for the rest of her team, fans can expect that they will try their best to support their chief and ensure that peace will always prevail.