That said, the absence of Sir Toby doesn’t mean that the beginning of Season 22 will be anything to miss.
However Warren Leight might have intended to end Season 21 and begin Season 22, plans have had to change.
The premiere will feature Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler for the first time since he left SVU at the end of Season 12.
SVU is about sexually based offenses and the victims, not medical crises, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the focus is much more on the characters and cases rather than the pandemic itself.