“Griselda” star Juliana Aidén Martinez played Miami detective June Hawkins on the Netflix series, but on Thursday night she joins “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” as a very different kind of law enforcement officer — her new character is the father by Detective Kate Silva happens to be a deputy commissioner with the NYPD.

Ahead of the Season 26 premiere on NBC, the actress told TheWrap that she was overwhelmed by the warm reception she received from “SVU” star Mariska Hargitay, who gave her a “big hug” upon their first meeting, though Martinez it was I was just auditioning for the role at the time.

Martinez also described the “indescribable feeling” of filming on the streets of New York as part of such a well-known franchise, and how the Miami native considers the city her “second home.”

TheWrap: How did you get this gig: Were the producers big fans of Griselda or had they seen you elsewhere?

Juliana Aiden Martinez: When I graduated, I auditioned for Maid (the Netflix series) and Rachel Tenner, the casting director, fell in love with me and cast me in Griselda. At the same time, I was in the running for another Dick Wolf show. Jonathan Charles, the casting director, also became a fan of mine and they said, “We’re going to keep an eye on you.” So they saw “Griselda” and said, “Hey, we’d like to have you for (‘SVU’) see.”

Can you talk about the differences between playing a real person in “Griselda” and a fictional person in “SVU”? And the differences between the role of a Miami cop and the role of an NYPD cop?

I was born in Miami but moved to New York as a teenager and who I am today as a young woman is heavily influenced by New York. It’s really cool with Griselda to play someone who is from my hometown of Miami and then to play someone who is from my second home of New York.

With Kate Silva on “SVU,” it’s kind of a blank canvas. It was a closer collaboration with the writers asking themselves, “Who is this person going to be?” than with “Griselda,” where there was a pool of information to source from.

What did you and the writers come up with for your character?

We talked about what it feels like to be young women today, especially in a city like New York, and the idea that my generation is the children of 9/11 and how deeply that has affected us. It fundamentally changed the politics of the United States and our culture as a whole. I feel like there’s the pre-9/11 era and the post-9/11 era, and we kids have experienced that.

In the first episode we learn that Kate was transferred from Homicide to SVU. Why did she want to take this step?

There’s a line in the first episode where Velasco (Octavio Pisano) says to Kate, “You must be a glutton for punishment,” because a police officer said that to him.

Our author David Graziano contacted police officers working in Brooklyn and asked, among other things, “What if a woman went from Homicide to SVU?”

And they had said, “Well, she must be a glutton for punishment,” and he found that really interesting. The reason why I would do this will be explored in the season. There are many layers.

Was Olivia a big factor in why Kate wanted to join this unit?

Kate, of course, grew up knowing who this impressive woman was. Captain Benson is a legacy as a character, but she’s also a legacy in the SVU world. She’s looking for someone who made a difference in justice for women, and she wants to find out what it took and what skills were needed to carry on that legacy.

Were you a fan of “SVU” before?

I saw it when I was in high school with my friends. When I got into “SVU,” I asked my two best friends, “What are your first memories of ‘SVU’?” And they said, “I remember watching it together,” and I found that was such an interesting observation. I feel like so many young women are watching the film with their friends or family. There is a (communal) or familial aspect to watching it.

What was it like filming on the streets of New York? Do fans approach you?

Absolutely. That’s the coolest thing. It was one of the most surprising phenomena for me. When we shot Griselda, we shot in LA and were in these isolated outdoor areas under a code name. So I never really saw people. We were in Pomona or some deserted place and no one knew what we were filming.

Nobody knew what “Griselda” was, but everyone knows “SVU,” everyone knows Mariska Hargitay. When people from Italy, Uruguay or France shout “Hey, SVU, SVU!”, it is a unique experience. And it feels like we’re filming with the city. It’s an indescribable feeling.

What surprised you most on set?

This isn’t a cliché at all, or I don’t mean it that way, but I was surprised at how warm and incredible Mariska is. I always knew who she was as a cultural icon, as an activist, as this incredible woman and advocate who did amazing things with this show.

But when I got to the screen test and walked on set for the first time, I felt a bit like a deer in headlights walking around. I heard her voice and she said, “Hey, come here, this is where you belong.” And she gave me this huge hug that struck me so much because it’s just so powerful and yet warm, generous and supportive.

At that time you were just doing a screen test and hadn’t been cast yet?

Yes, she really is a mother.

Were your family already fans of the series?

My mother is a fan. My father is as Colombian as can be, so we (usually) only watch Telemundo, but he will (now) watch because of me. But my mother knew the show straight away, and so did my best friend’s mother, and of course my best friends. They were really, really excited because they know how much I care about women’s stories and social progress and finding a way to advance the path for women.

Law & Order: SVU Season 26 premieres Thursday night at 9 p.m. on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.