Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has removed a scheduled new episode from its lineup. The move comes after the January 9, 2026 arrest of Timothy Busfield, a guest star in the unaired episode, on serious criminal charges.
The episode, titled “Corrosive”, was originally scheduled to air on Thursday, January 15, 2026. NBC has decided not to broadcast it for the time being. The network will instead air the episode planned for the following week, “Fidelis Ad Mortem”, on the 15th.
Why the Episode Was Pulled from the Schedule
NBC’s decision follows the arrest of actor and director Timothy Busfield. An arrest warrant was issued on January 9, 2026, charging Busfield with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and child abuse. The allegations reportedly involve his conduct toward two young actors on the set of the Fox series The Cleaning Lady, where he also worked as an executive producer and director.
Busfield has faced similar allegations in the past. A separate lawsuit was settled from an incident in 1994 involving a 17-year-old extra on the film Little Big League.
The plot of the pulled SVU episode, “Corrosive,” is reported to center on abuse, which made the situation particularly sensitive. In the episode, Busfield was cast as a respected judge whose life is threatened. The storyline also involved the return of former detective Amanda Rollins, played by Kelli Giddish, who works to help a survivor of abuse.
This is not Busfield’s first work with the Law & Order franchise. He has previously appeared in an episode of the original Law & Order and a past episode of SVU, and has also directed episodes for both series.
What Episode Will Air Instead and How to Watch
For the Thursday, January 15 time slot, NBC will move forward with a different new episode of SVU. The network will now air Season 27, Episode 11, titled “Fidelis Ad Mortem”. There has been no official announcement on whether “Corrosive” will be permanently shelved or broadcast at a much later date.
New episodes of Law & Order: SVU air on NBC on Thursdays at 9/8c. They become available for streaming on Peacock the following day. This schedule remains in place for the replacement episode.
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Context of the Current Season and Recent Crossover Event
The cancellation of the episode occurs during an eventful Season 27 of SVU. The season began with the official return of Kelli Giddish as a series regular and featured a major storyline involving the funeral of longtime character Captain Donald Cragen.
The news also follows directly on the heels of a major crossover event with the original Law & Order series. That two-hour event, which functioned as the midseason premiere, aired on January 8, 2026. The crossover was structured to feel like a continuous movie, featuring the full casts of both shows working on a single, complex case involving a dangerous human trafficking and surrogacy scheme.
Law & Order showrunner Rick Eid explained the approach to the crossover:
“We’re hoping to have many characters from both shows in both hours, so it feels more like a movie than a handoff to a second show.”
A key moment in the crossover saw Detective Terry Bruno (Kevin Kane) severely injured during a raid on a warehouse that exploded. His character has since recovered and returned to duty.
The crossover was well-received by the cast. Odelya Halevi, who plays ADA Samantha Maroun on Law & Order, praised working with SVU star Mariska Hargitay:
“Mariska Hargitay is such an amazing host… She makes it feel like we’re home.”
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