The cancelation of Christopher Meloni’s “Law & Order: Organized Crime” earlier this year was certainly not good news for the show’s fans.
However, the decision to axe the show may have had a silver lining by freeing up Meloni for a potential return to “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
A Clandestine Meeting
In a recent interview with Variety, “SVU” producer Peter Jankowski confirmed that Meloni had paid a recent visit to the show’s “base camp” at Chelsea Piers in New York City.
While details of that visit are being kept top secrent, Jankowski told the outlet that Meloni had a meeting with “SVU” showrunner Michele Fazekas.
While there’s yet to be anything resembling an official announcement, Entertainment Weekly theorizes the purpose of that meeting was to discuss the actor’s return to “SVU” in the upcoming season — either in a guest-starring capacity, or as a full-time series regular.
A Partnership Viewers Love
Meloni’s return to “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” would be a dream come true for the show’s legions of loyal viewers.
Ever since the series’ premiere back in 1999, fans have responded to the interpersonal dynamic between Mariska Hargitay‘s Olivia Benson and Meloni’s Elliot Stabler.
Hargitay has remained a mainstay on the series throughout its run, while Meloni exited in 2011 after 12 seasons amid reports of a salary dispute during contract negotiations.
Meloni has returned as a guest star several times. In 2021, Meloni reprised Stabler in his own spinoff, “Organized Crime,” which ran for four seasons on NBC and a fifth on Peacock before its cancelation.
Mariska Hargitay ‘Did Not Want Him to Leave’
Speaking with Variety, Hargitay revealed that she did everything in her power to smooth over that contract dispute and keep Meloni on the show.
“I did not want him to leave,” Hargitay recalled.
“I tried so hard to broker that,” she added, “because it didn’t end great with them.”
An Instant Connection
Meloni also spoke to Variety, revealing that his chemistry with Hargitay is completely organic, and that they formed a connection “from the moment that we set eyes on each other.”
Over the years they worked together, he explained, that rapport has only gotten stronger.
“The key of it was humor,” Meloni shared.
“If you can communicate through humor, then you have a very tight bond. You experiment with how far you can go,” he added.
“Sometimes it can be very cutting. Sometimes it can be very close to the bone of truth. And if each person can withstand the shots — we may play rough with each other, but if we can communicate comfortably, we can figure out the other stuff,” he said.
An Open Invitation
Meanwhile, “SVU” showrunner Fazekas hasn’t been shy in stating her desire to lure the actor back into the “L&O” fold.
“I love Meloni, and I will occasionally ask casting and see if Meloni’s available,” she told NBC Insider earlier this year. “If I can get him, I definitely will.”
However, she was also adamant that any return for Stabler couldn’t be a mere casting stunt, but would have to make sense to the show’s storyline.
“It has to be meaningful and it has to come from these characters,” she explained. “There were at least two times this season where I was like, ‘Hey, is he around?’”
The 28th season of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” kicks off October 8 on NBC.
