On April 11, 2011, Variety reported that Leight would serve as showrunner for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit starting with the thirteenth season. Prior to Leight joining SVU, he wrote one of the final episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, the 10th-season episode "Trophy Wine", which was the only episode of the season not to be inspired by a real life, true event. Before production on the 13th season of Law & Order: SVU, NBC President Bob Greenblatt sought Leight to "reset the tone" of the show from its prior seasons, while having the storylines "still be compelling but a little more grounded".
