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Nielsen rates as fill-in on ‘SVU’

As Mariska Hargitay prepares to go on maternity leave, “Law & Order: SVU” has found a temporary replacement for her.

Connie Nielsen, best known for her role in the Oscar-winning “Gladiator,” will appear in six episodes of the NBC series later this season when Hargitay is out on leave. Hargitay and husband Peter Hermann are expecting their first child in the spring.

Hargitay’s pregnancy won’t be written into “SVU,” so that will mean that her character, Detective Olivia Benson, will be written out of those episodes. NBC says she Benson will be assigned “away from the building,” with Nielsen’s character, who’s unnamed at the moment, brought in to replace her.

“This is an unremittingly positive situation for us,” “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf says. “I’m thrilled that Mariska is having a baby and thrilled that we have someone of Connie’s obvious talent, beauty and stature to come in for these episodes. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Although “SVU” has had a pretty stable cast over its seven seasons – Hargitay, Chris Meloni, Richard Belzer and Dann Florek have been there from the start – cast changes are nothing new in the “Law & Order” world. The original “L&O” underwent a similar temporary switch last season when “Sopranos” star Michael Imperioli filled in for Jesse L. Martin while Martin filmed “Rent.”

Nielsen’s “SVU” episodes will mark the Danish-born actress’ first appearance on an American prime-time series. In addition to “Gladiator,” her movie credits include “Rushmore,” “Permanent Midnight,” “One Hour Photo” and “The Ice Harvest.”

ABC slots four midseason shows; ‘Alias’ mia

ABC will be performing some scheduling gymnastics to get the remainder of its large midseason slate on the air, with four new series joining the previously slated “Sons & Daughters” on the network in March and April.

Left out of the mix, however, is “Alias,” which was originally scheduled to return in March for its final episodes but is now a schedule orphan.

First up among the new shows is the unscripted series “Miracle Workers,” which debuts at 10 p.m. ET March 6, a week after “The Bachelor: Paris” concludes its season. A feel-good show in the vein of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” the series follows a team of doctors and nurses who will help people overcome overwhelming medical issues.

“Miracle Workers” will air for four weeks before giving way to the drama “What About Brian,” which stars “7th Heaven” alum Barry Watson as a single guy in his 30s whose friends are all married or about to be. Complicating matters, he has a massive crush on his best friend’s (Matthew Davis, “Legally Blonde”) fiancee (Sarah Lancaster, “Everwood”).

“Brian” will premiere on April 2, where it will have the advantage of “Desperate Housewives” as a lead-in, before moving to its Monday home the following night. ABC will also return “Supernanny” to Mondays at 9 p.m. March 6.

March 16 will bring the two-hour debut of “American Inventor,” a series executive produced by “American Idol’s” Simon Cowell. The show will give would-be Edisons a chance to show off their ideas to viewers and a panel of judges, with the winner getting a chance to bring his or her invention to consumers.

The show will settle in at 9 p.m. Thursdays on March 23. Also that night, a series of four “Home Edition” specials featuring the show’s team helping disaster victims on the Gulf Coast will debut in the 8 p.m. hour. With “Primetime” remaining at 10, “Alias” has no place to go for the remainder of its final season. An ABC rep couldn’t be reached Wednesday to discuss where the show might land.

ABC’s final midseason entry is “The Evidence,” a crime procedural from “ER” executive producer John Wells that debuts at 10 p.m. March 22 (“Invasion” will go on hiatus and return in April to finish its season). The show follows two San Francisco detectives (Orlando Jones and Rob Estes) who reconstruct crimes based on the evidence collected at the scene.

ABC previously announced that “Sons & Daughters” will take “Commander In Chief’s” Tuesday spot for six weeks starting March 7. “Chief” will return April 18.