'Law & Order: SVU' Stars Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni Reunite in New Photo, and Fans Are Gushing

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have reunited once again, but this time it's special. The two will be coming together again on screen for the first time in almost a decade this fall, when Meloni returns to SVU for the Season 22 premiere and stars in his own Law & Order spin-off. Fans were incredibly excited to see the new photo, which reminded them that we are one step closer to seeing Benson and Stabler working together again.

The new photo shows Hargitay and Meloni together outside, smiling for the camera. "It's on," Hargitay wrote. The caption was a reference to Meloni's long-awaited return to SVU. He has not been on the show since the Season 12 finale aired in 2011, and his character, Det. Elliot Stabler, never really got the send-off fans hoped for. When Season 13 began, Stabler was suddenly nowhere to be found. It was just explained that Stabler chose to retire instead of undergoing an Internal Affairs review. The character has rarely been mentioned since.

Back in March, it was first reported that Law & Order creator Dick Wolf began development on a Stabler-centric spin-off titled Law & Order: Organized Crime. The new show will feature Stabler as the head of the New York Police Department's Organized Crime Unit. It is scheduled to air this fall on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET, following SVU at 9 p.m. ET. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic still has film and television production on halt in New York, so it is not clear if either show will be finished in time to debut in September.