Following the death of Mike Dodds in the season 17 finale, fans can expect more exciting storylines in the upcoming season of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

The new season will follow Olivia Benson as she tries to cope with the death of Dodds. In addition, the unidentified assailant threatening the life of Rafael Barba in the previous season remains at large, so fans can expect this to be one of the major storylines for season 18.

Season 18 will pick up a month or so following the events in the season 17 finale. As the new season opens, viewers will see Benson and the rest of the SVU team still mourning the demise of Dodds.

In his interview with Entertainment Weekly, new showrunner Rick Eid revealed that the season 18 premiere will be an emotional one.

"We're not super time-specific, so it's not like it's time-coded, but maybe a month or so after the death of Mike Dodds in season 17, that's how the finale ended. That is still weighing heavily on the SVU team and certainly the character of Benson. We pick up from there. It's not the day after, some time has passed, but obviously the tragedy has not passed. So we pick up emotionally from that place," he said.

It was previously announced that Rick Eid officially took the place of long-time showrunner Warren Leight when he inked a deal with NBC to be the showrunner and executive producer of the series for the next two years. Prior to that, he served as co-executive producer of the "Law & Order" franchise from 2005 to 2007.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" season 18 premieres on Sept. 21 on NBC.