‘Law & Order: SVU’ Fans Want to See More of This Character — Despite Being Absent For 4 Years
‘Law & Order: SVU’ Fans Want to See More of This Character — Despite Being Absent For 4 Years
Nicole MooreSun, February 8, 2026 at 12:44 AM UTC
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(Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images)
With the show being on air since 1999, it's understandable that there's been a revolving door of characters in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. For instance, recurring character Captain Declan Murphy, played by Donal Logue, made appearances during just nine Law and Order: SVU episodes from 2014 to 2022, per IMDb.
However, despite his limited screen time on the NBC police procedural, Declan made quite an impact on fans. Several Law and Order: SVU viewers revealed that they wished Declan had appeared in more episodes on a February 4 Reddit thread on the show's subreddit.
The original poster uploaded a picture of Logue as Declan with the caption reading, "This guy rules and should appear more often."
Other Law and Order: SVU fans agreed that Declan should have been in the show more."Agreed! He’s so well balanced in his ruling hand vs his compassion and understanding for appropriate work life balance for his teams wellbeing," wrote a commenter.
"Yeah, I like his style," added another.
"I love when I catch episodes with him!! I wish he was around more," shared a third person.
"Agree, he was brilliant!" commented a different fan.
"YES!!!! I don't know how long I've been in love with Donal Logue!!!" chimed in a fifth Reddit user.
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"Agree. Love him, and his character. I wish they gave more of the story with him and Rollins, or at least mentioned he was involved in Jesse’s life," added another, in reference to Declan being the father of Amanda Rollins' (Kelli Giddish) daughter, Jesse.
Some Fans Expressed Their Dislike of Declan Murphy
Some fans, however, took to the Reddit thread to share that they weren't fans of Declan because of his lack of presence in Jesse's life.
"Declan! He is Jesses biological father. He is a worthless father but it’s time he will meet his daughter," commented a Reddit user.
"I agree that Declan was done dirty by the show, but Amanda didn't say she wanted to do it on her own, but that she was able to. He said to call if she needed anything and then went back undercover in Serbia and got hooked on drugs," added another. "When he came back to New York, he didn't even tell Amanda, never mind try to find out anything about his daughter, who was like 9 years old by then. The one conversation they had about Jesse, he pretty much knew nothing about her and seemed more concerned with whether Amanda was single or not. He even apologized for being such a garbage father and missing out on his daughter's life."
"Do you really think that Declan did a good job as a father? Or a decent man or as the captain? First he knocked up his subordinate junior detective who he outranked. This was power abusive as he will admit years later. They talked for 2 minutes on the streets," commented a different person. "She told him she didn’t need help. Knowing Declan is always undercover and in dangerous situations. How could he help when he was for years in servie? They talked for 2 minutes and then he disappeared and never looked back He was never there for his daughter. She probably has no idea who he is. They talked 2 minutes when she was pregnant and 2 minutes when jesse was 5. And canon wise they never met or talked again. He is a worthless father and captain."
The Former Showrunner of 'Law and Order: SVU' Discussed Donal Logue Not Being a Series Regular
The former showrunner of Law and Order: SVU,Warren Leight, discussed Donal Logue not being a series regular in a May 2016 interview with E! News. Leight, who was the showrunner for four years until the show's 17th season, said he had some regrets about not being able to ensure Logue could star on the series. He explained that Logue snagged the role of Detective Harvey Bullock on the series Gotham, which premiered in 2015.
"We were falling in love with him and he was falling in love with the show and he got offered Gotham and we were not yet picked up at that point, so I couldn't guarantee him a job," said Leight to the publication. "So, he did the pilot and we were hoping that would fail. He was great to work with."
Logue starred as Harvey until Gotham's fifth and final season, which ended in 2019.
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
