Law and Order SVU is entering its sixteenth season on NBC, but that doesn't mean star Mariska Hargitay loves the show any less. In fact, she may love playing main character Olivia Benson more!

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"I love her more now than ever...I love her because I am challenged by her," Hargitay said about Benson to E! Online Friday. "I never know what's going to happen. She surprises me. [Warren Leight, SVU's show runner] 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."

Hargitay attributed that to all the dark stuff that went on in Season 15 with William Lewis, played by Pablo Schreiber and then becoming a new mom to baby Noah.

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"They say when you're a parent, your heart goes from inside to outside," Hargitay said. "She's just trying to figure it out and I've got all these new notes to play. The show has a different tone in a way and it just feels new. After last year, which in many ways I felt like we kind of peaked and now I feel like we haven't..."

Show runner Leight also said that he thinks the audience likes seeing different sides of the character. "I think the audience wants to see her evolve. I think it's more interesting than seeing her be the same person week in and week out."

The drama returns Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 9/8c to NBC.

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Law And Order SVU, Nbc, Mariska hargitay