Connie Nielsen transfers into 'SVU'

NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- "Gladiator" star Connie Nielsen will join the cast of NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" while star Mariska Hargitay goes on maternity leave.

The show will send Hargitay's character, Detective Olivia Benson, on a special assignment and Nielsen will play a warrant detective assigned to fill in for the unit, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

Nielsen's run will last six episodes.

The first child for Hargitay and her husband, actor Peter Hermann, is due in the spring.