‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’: Danielle Moné Truitt Spills Details on Stabler’s New Mentor Role in Season 3 (Exclusive)

Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 begins its main story this week, following last week’s big three-show crossover. So much attention was devoted to the “movie-style” story that brought the three squads together that the new crime Det. Elliot Stabler, Sgt. Ayanna Bell, and Det. Jet Slootmaekers have to solve flew under the radar. In an exclusive PopCulture.com interview, Danielle Moné Truitt teased the details of the new story and how Stabler will take on a new mentor role.

Just as past seasons of Organized Crime featured multi-story arcs, Season 3 will spend its entire run on one case. New York City is about to open its first casino, but Stabler (Christopher Meloni) learns that a friend’s refusal to sell his home delayed construction. When that friend winds up dead, the Organized Crime Task Force finds itself at the center of this precarious casino project. Meanwhile, Bell’s personal life is in shambles as she prepares for her divorce.

During their investigation into the casino, Bell’s team discovers connections to illicit enterprises. “There’s going to be the mob part of it, there’s going to be the political part of it,” Truitt explained to PopCulture. “There’s going to be, even in law enforcement, how all of these different people, they’re kind of putting their weight in it so they can get what they want out of it. In the meantime, people are being taken advantage of, people are being killed.”

The season will also include episodes focusing on other crimes while the main casino investigation goes on in the background. As for more appearances from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay, Truitt could only tease, “We’ll see.”

Bell’s team will gain two new detectives, Bobby Reyes, played by Rick Gonzalez (Arrow), and Jamie Whelan, played by Brent Antonello (Dynasty). Bobby will be the one going undercover this season. After all, Stabler can only go undercover so many times before every single criminal in New York City begins to recognize him. Bobby “is a really good asset to the team because now Stabler has gone undercover one too many times, so he can’t keep going undercover,” Truitt joked. Bobby even refers to himself as “the Invisible Man.”

Truitt also described Antonello’s character as a “baby Stabler” who is very eager to “take down the bad guys by any means necessary.” Stabler will take a mentor role for Jamie, Truitt said before going on to praise the two new stars. “They’ve been a great addition to our cast and our task force is really, there’s more depth there and it’s really a team,” she said. “Feels like a real team this season, so I’m excited.”

Although the sheen of Stabler’s return to Law & Order may have worn off by this point, the actors around Meloni clearly still look up to him. “He has such a big heart and he’s a lot of fun to work with, but he’s also intense,” Truitt gushed about the veteran star. “He don’t play that. He’s serious about the show. He’s serious about the work we’re doing, the script, making sure we’re doing work that’s elevated.”

Truitt went on to say that she loves working with Meloni. “We have a great time going through these scenes and making them the best that they can be,” she said. “Yeah, I feel very lucky to be on the show and have him at the helm.”

Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 airs on NBC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET. The all-Law & Order night begins at 8 p.m. ET with the mothership series and SVU follows at 9 p.m. ET. All three shows are available to stream on Peacock.