We’ll be seeing more of Octavio Pisano on Law & Order: Svu. Pisano, who portrays Detective Joe Velasco, has been promoted to series regular on the NBC procedural.

Pisano’s Joe Velasco is a former undercover and detective under Chief McGrath (Terry Serpico) who’s been assigned to the Svu. Pisano has appeared in 3 episodes so far, beginning with the season 23 premiere.

Season 23 picked up mere hours after last season’s finale, where Catalina Machado (Zabryna Guevara) was arrested for trafficking single mothers living in shelters in a complex housing-for-sex scheme. She now wants to flip on her superiors in exchange for a deal with the feds, and names a powerful congressman as the big fish. It’s a make-or-break case for the NYPD and puts enormous pressure on the entire Svu squad to get a conviction.

Pisano’s promotion follows the recent exits of two key cast members — Jamie Gray Hyder,...