Benson (Mariska Hargitay) may have to deal with Chief Dodds' (Peter Gallagher) formal complaint against her in the upcoming season of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

As per the recent spoilers, Dodds will still be grieving over his son's death in the new installment. Mike (Andy Karl) was killed in last season's finale when a suspect shot him in the chest. The chief felt that Mike's boss was remiss in her duty to protect her subordinates. Benson also could not help but blame herself for what happened since she was not able to stop Mike from entering the criminal's house alone. When it became apparent that Mike would not live, Dodds was asked to turn off his son's life support system.

It is expected that tension between Benson and the chief will continue in season 18. The promo photos released by NBC already hint of what would happen to the pair. In the images, Dodds can be seen angrily looking at Benson, whereas the latter can only stare back at her boss. It is entirely possible that Dodds will take their fight to a whole new level by issuing a formal complaint against Benson. It may even come to the point when one of them will have to leave the SVU.

Meanwhile, executive producer Rick Eid recently teased about one of the upcoming episodes in the new season. As previously reported, the show will be featuring an episode inspired by the documentary series "Making a Murderer." Eid told The Hollywood Reporter that it would be about a man who was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Just like Steve Avery in the docu, the convict was accused of rape, but it would later be revealed that he was innocent, based on new evidence.

"He's exonerated by DNA, but Joe Biden is in that episode playing himself and talking about the rape kit backlog. That episode explores the idea of what happens when an innocent man is sent to prison for 18 years and gets out? We continue to find inspiration in the headlines, in the zeitgeist and try to put our own Law & Order, Dick Wolf spin on it all and make it complicated and tell both sides of the story and hopefully create some interesting conversation for the people who watch," the EP explained.

"Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" season 18 will return on Sept. 21 on NBC.