"Law & Order" is about to get a shakeup.

In the "Law & Order" universe, one of the franchise's most common themes is that the episodes usually start and end as standalone cases. Also, they are rarely seen with a happy ending, but more of a conclusive ending.

The bad guy does not always end up in jail and the good guys sometimes die. The theory behind it, which is the way it has operated since conception in the early '90s, was to rip stories from the headlines and transcribe those into the show.

That is something that will happen right out of the gate on Season 17 of "SVU," as reported by E! News.

In its Spoiler Chat, Kristin Dos Santos reveals that not only is the season going to start off with a bang, but viewers can expect to see another crossover event, possibly sometime within the first three episodes. The show has already started filming, as it usually does this early in the summer.

Dos Santos spoke with Kelli Giddish, who revealed a few details that are of importance to the series and also a correlation to recent events, such as Caitlyn Jenner in the headlines.

"Rollins, I think it's so cool to really see her get enveloped by a case and maybe a subject. I think maybe you'll see her become a little obsessed with that," Giddish, who plays Detective Rollins, told E! News. "The beginning of next season is so great. We're in the midst of production of season 17 now, we're dealing with transgender already, you know. They're on top of things as always."

CarterMatt reports that "SVU" has a tendency to film the first couple of episodes early in the summer, then takes a break, only to pick up where they left later in the summer, or possibly early fall. Otherwise, news like this is rarely available, especially with other shows that do not follow that production schedule.

Season 17 premieres on NBC this fall.