It's a sad time for many fans of NBC's hit crime show, Law & Order: SVU, as they were thrown for quite the twist when it was revealed that longtime actor Richard Belzer (Sgt. John Munch) would be departing from the TV series as a full-time co-star.

According to Yahoo, the 69-year-old regular will be making his exit, which was learned during last night's episode by Dann Florek's character (Capt. Cragen).

"Munch put in his papers. Liv, it's OK. Nothing changes. Except what has to," he told Detective Benson (Mariska Hargitay).

Beltzer's role started out in 1993 on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street, which led to the character appearing on the Special Victim's Unit of the respective franchise for over 320 episodes.

Interestingly enough, his character also made appearances in The X Files, The Beat, Law & Order and Law & Order: Trial By Jury.

Beltzer isn't the first well known actor to leave the program. Chris Meloni, who donned the part of Det. Elliot Stabler, ended his time on the show back in 2011 after 12 seasons.

Law & Order: SVU will next air on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. A preview video for the upcoming episode, titled Wonderland Story, can be watched below.

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