Mariska Hargitay is a member of an elite squad: real life heroes.

While filming Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in New York City April 10, the actress was approached by a little girl who mistook the 60-year-old for a real police officer based on her costume—which includes a very real-looking police badge.

The child went up to Mariska as she was shooting a scene with costar Ice-T, and according to multiple outlets interrupted filming to ask for Mariska's help in finding her mom, which she successfully did.

E! News has reached out to Mariska for comment.

The Emmy winner—who shares children sons August, 17, and Andrew, 12, and daughter Amaya, 12, with husband of 20 years Peter Hermann—has played the iconic role of Olivia Benson on the NBC procedural  since the show premiered in 1999.

And according to Mariska, playing a role like Olivia has offered important lessons that she has applied to her real life. 

"I would say learning to tolerate our feelings and knowing that we can get over anything, that they pass, and then we're stronger because of it," she told E! News in 2022. "It's just about accessing our strength. I think that Olivia is such a badass who's grown into her power. And that is our journey for all of us women." 

And while SVU shows no signs of slowing down, what would be her idea outcome for Olivia be in the end?

"I hope that she can get to a point where she feels like she's done enough service," she continued, "and it's time to rest and be and see the best that life has to offer. She's spent so much time in the darkest of what life has to offer."

Law & Order: SVU airs on Thursdays at 9/8c pm on NBC. To find out when more of your favorite shows are hitting the small screen this year, keep reading. 

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Under the Bridge is based on acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey’s book about the 1997 true story of fourteen-year old Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta) who went to join friends at a party and never returned home. Through the eyes of Godfrey (Riley Keough) and a local police officer (Lily Gladstone), the series takes us into the hidden world of the young girls accused of the murder—revealing startling truths about the unlikely killer.

Going Home with Tyler Cameron stars reality TV star and former The Bachelorette heartthrob Tyler Cameron as he follows his dream of starting his own construction and home renovation company. After the sudden loss of his mother, Tyler moved back to his hometown, Jupiter, Florida, to reunite with his family and finally achieve his goal of launching his business, Image One. With the help of his team members, Tyler builds his company from the ground up, exceeding his clients’ expectations one home renovation at a time.

In season three, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds navigate running the 3rd oldest professional football club in the world. Welcome to Wrexham is a docuseries tracking the dreams and worries of Wrexham, a working-class city in North Wales, U.K., as two Hollywood stars guide the future of their historic Club.

High Hopes is a workplace reality series following Belarus-born brothers Slava and Mishka, and their stoned crew through the trials and tribulations of taking their cannabis business to new heights. As one of the oldest cannabis dispensaries in Hollywood, MMD attracts a wild mix of weed-loving customers and is a home away from home for their O.G. employees who work hard and smoke harder! This season builds to their biggest day of the year—4.20—as the gang attempts to expand nationwide and release their own top-shelf cannabis brand. Will they find what they’re looking for or will their hopes go up in smoke?

Broken Horses examines the systemic issues, questionable practices and urgent calls for change that have shaken horse racing to its core. The world’s finest racehorses arrived at Louisville’s famed Churchill Downs ahead of the 2023 Kentucky Derby, but by the time the showcase event started on the first Saturday in May, seven of them were dead. In the days after, five more died. The two other showpieces of the sport’s Triple Crown series, the Preakness in May and the Belmont in June, were also marred by deaths on the track that horrified spectators and intensified pressure on racing officials to reckon with the problem.

Milf Manor the provocative dating series that became a pop culture sensation is back on TLC. Brimming with a whole new group of sexy, successful MILFs who are looking for their chance at love, this season promises one shocking twist and plenty of unexpected twists and turns throughout.

Season two of We Are Lady Parts sees the band return with a renewed artistic mission after the high of their first U.K. tour, only to find a rival band threatens their delicate status quo. As the reality of chasing success sets in, Lady Parts embark on recording their first album, juggling personal ambitions and deciding whether ‘making it big’ is really what they wanted. 

The Veil explores the surprising and fraught relationship between two women who play a deadly game of truth and lies on the road from Istanbul to Paris and London. One woman has a secret, the other a mission to reveal it before thousands of lives are lost. In the shadows, mission controllers at the CIA and French DGSE must put differences aside and work together to avert potential disaster.

Co-hosts Nev Schulman and Kamie Crawford reunite to uncover some of the most important, real-life stories to date including overcoming abuse, disease, racism and more.

A year after parting, Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) is riding high off the success of her standup special while Ava (Hannah Einbinder) pursues new opportunities back in Los Angeles. 

Selena Gomez takes the next step in her culinary adventure as she heads out of her home kitchen and into the professional kitchens of some of L.A.’s hottest restaurants in Selena + Restaurant, premiering May 2.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an event series inspired by the real-life story of Jewish Holocaust survivors Lali and Gita Sokolov. Lali (Jonah Hauer-King) arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942, and shortly after arrival, he was made one of the tätowierer (tattooists), charged to ink identification numbers onto fellow prisoners’ arms. One day, he meets Gita (Anna Próchniak) when tattooing her prisoner number on her arm. They experience love at first sight, and so begins a courageous, unforgettable, and human story. Under constant guard from a volatile Nazi SS officer Baretzki (Jonas Nay), Lali and Gita became determined to keep each other alive.

Returning for season 14 are Housewives Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, Dolores Catania, Margaret Josephs, Jennifer Aydin, Danielle Cabral and Rachel Fuda.   

E! teams up with trailblazing style icon Julia Fox and renowned image architect Law Roach as they host the new eccentric fashion design competition series OMG Fashun. Handcrafted is the new haute couture as Julia inspires pioneering fashion disruptors to upend traditional style convention, break the rules and redefine “cool.” 

Five international soccer superstars look for love by taking on secret identities to date several single women in Los Angeles who don’t know of their fame overseas. 

The new series features Premier League stars Jamie O’Hara (36 – United Kingdom), Ryan Babel (36 – Netherlands) and Lloyd Jones (27 – United Kingdom), as well as Olympic Gold Medalist Marco Fabián (33 – Mexico) and soccer royalty Sebastián Fassi (29 – Mexico). 

From Shondaland and new showrunner, Jess Brownell, Bridgerton is back for its third season and finds Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) has finally given up on her long-held crush on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) after hearing his disparaging words about her last season. She has, however, decided it’s time to take a husband, preferably one who will provide her with enough independence to continue her double life as Lady Whistledown, far away from her mother and sisters. But lacking in confidence, Penelope’s attempts on the marriage mart fail spectacularly. Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his summer travels with a new look and a serious sense of swagger. But he’s disheartened to realize that Penelope, the one person who always appreciated him as he was, is giving him the cold shoulder. Eager to win back her friendship, Colin offers to mentor Penelope in the ways of confidence to help her find a husband this season. But when his lessons start working a little too well, Colin must grapple with whether his feelings for Penelope are truly just friendly. Complicating matters for Penelope is her rift with Eloise (Claudia Jessie), who has found a new friend in a very unlikely place, while Penelope’s growing presence in the ton makes it all the more difficult to keep her Lady Whistledown alter ego a secret.

Hosted by Emmy Award-winner Niecy Nash, Don’t Forget The Lyrics challenges contestants’ musical memory as they get one song closer to winning $1 million.

I Can See Your Voice host Ken Jeong is joined by Emmy Award-nominated actress Cheryl Hines and Daytime Emmy Award-winning television host and vocalist Adrienne Bailon-Houghton along with a rotating panel of celebrity detectives to help one contestant tell the difference between good and bad singers…without ever hearing them sing a note. 

In the most harrowing outdoor adventure competition yet, challengers must rely on a combination of endurance racing, survival skills and intuition as they navigate 150 miles of New Zealand’s harshest terrain. From the depths of ancient caves to frigid alpine summits, every step and every calorie is hard-earned. However, strength and speed alone won’t be enough to win $500,000. Rather, only those with the strongest will to survive can claim this life-changing prize. 

Hosted by Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch, the iconic British import and international game show phenomenon returns with a new batch of episodes, including a special veteran-themed show saluting the troops.

Culinary titan Gordan Ramsay welcomes famed hospitality industry leader and TV personality Lisa Vanderpump in the all-new season of the hit competition series.

Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian Barker, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner return for season five this spring.

Jamie Foxx and Corinne Fox return for a new season of the interactive game show.

The 19th season of America’s Got Talent returns with a new set of aspiring performers looking to compete for the ultimate $1 million prize. Executive producer Simon Cowell returns to the star-studded judging panel with Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara.  

Gordon Ramsay, acclaimed chef Aarón Sánchez and renowned restaurateur Joe Bastianich return for the ultimate cook-off, as the top home cooks from four different generations, inclusive of Gen Z, Millenials, Gen X and Baby Boomers, battle it out. 

Clipped takes you behind the scenes of a notorious NBA owner’s racist remarks, captured on a tape heard around the world. Based on the hit ESPN 30 for 30 podcast The Sterling Affairs, this limited series charts the collision between a dysfunctional basketball organization and even less functional marriage, and the precipitating tape’s impact on an ensemble of characters striving to win against the backdrop of the most cursed team in the league.

Season three of The Bear returns in June, with all the episodes dropping on Hulu at the same time.

Season two of the reality series debuts this summer.

Hosted by Jane Krakowski and band leader Randy Jackson, contestants' musical knowledge will be tested for a chance to win over $100,000. 

 In 1972, Karl Lagerfeld (Daniel Brühl) is 38 and not yet wearing his iconic hairstyle. He is a ready-to-wear designer, unknown to the general public. While he meets and falls in love with the sultry Jacques de Bascher (Théodore Pellerin), an ambitious and troubling young dandy, the most mysterious of fashion designers dares to take on his friend (and rival) Yves Saint Laurent (Arnaud Valois), a genius of haute couture backed by the redoubtable businessman Pierre Bergé (Alex Lutz).