‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ Star Christopher Meloni Shares Sneak Peek at ‘SVU’ Crossover

Law & Order: Organized Crime star Christopher Meloni recently shared a sneak peek at his new series’ crossover with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, his previous series. In the clip that Meloni shared during an appearance on The Tonight Show, his character — Elliot Stabler — is catching up with one of his old SVU team members, Sergeant Odafin “Fin” Tutuola, played by Ice-T. As the two of them talk over beers, Stabler explains why he never reached back out after leaving the team, and Tutuola gives him a brief update on Olivia Benson — Stabler’s old partner — played by Mariska Hargitay.

Meloni stared in SVU for the show’s first 12 seasons and was a fan-favorite of viewers. His role as the hard-boiled Stabler earned him an Emmy nomination in 2006 for best lead actor in a drama series. Meloni exited Law & Order: SVU in 2011. Stabler was written out of the show by having suddenly decided to retire from the NYPD. It seems that Stabler’s sudden and surprising departure might be a point of contention between him and his old team, but fans will have to tune in on April 1 to find out.

Meloni was initially scheduled to return as Stabler on the Season 22 premiere of Law & Order: SVU, but that changed due to the production issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. “These days, all plans are subject to change. And then they change again. And again. For now, we won’t reintroduce Stabler until the night of his Organized Crime premiere,” SVU showrunner Warren Leight tweeted in August. “[The SVU writers room] has to be NIMBLE this year.”

Meloni spoke with Entertainment Tonight, in July, about returning as Stabler, saying that “a certain piece just fell into place.” He continued, “For me, there were just personal things that I was like, ‘You know, now is a good time.’ That was it. There was nothing secret. It just was effortlessly correct.” Meloni added, “It’s one of these [things where] I felt like I believed in the stars and all that… I’d go, ‘Oh, the stars are telling me you know but because it was just right.’” The SVU/Organized Crime will debut on Thursday, April 1, at 9 p.m. ET.