‘Law & Order: SVU’ Left On Life Support

Raul Esparza — the passionate ADA Rafael Barba on NBC's enduring hit "Law & Order: SVU" — departed the drama on the Feb. 7 episode, and snitches say it’s because the actor was fed up with the show's direction!

“I’ve done six seasons. I just felt it was time to move on,” Esparza cryptically claimed.

“Barba was created by show-runner Warren Leight, who’d approached Raul to take on the role," an industry insider explained to The National ENQUIRER. "But after Leight left in 2016, it was only a matter of time before Raul followed.”

In fact, when asked if Leight’s exit factored into his decision to leave, Esparza, shown here with co-star Mariska Hargitay, confessed, “Yeah, I think that’s pretty much understood.”

“Esparza’s been gracious about the material he was given for his final season — but no actor willingly sticks around if he’s unhappy with his character’s story lines,” added a media source. Stage veteran Esparza is shown here with co-star Erin Dilly on opening night of the Broadway musical "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."

While"SVU" survived the loss of original cast members Christopher Meloni, Dann Florek and Richard Belzer, the source says, “This could really hurt the series in the long run. Viewers get invested in characters. If they don’t stick around, neither will the audience.”