‘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.

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Stabler will also appear in the SVU Season 22 premiere to not only bring the character back but to also introduce him to a whole generation of SVU fans who have become used to a squad room without him. “It’s pretty clear that Elliot will be in the SVU season opener,” showrunner Warren Leight said on the SVU podcast. “I think that much I know. Whether we get to see his family as well remains to be seen.”

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The new season of SVU will air while protesters across the country are speaking out against police brutality. Leight has said the show will find a way to address current events as it always has and he made a “conscious effort” to diversify the show’s writers’ room. In February, SVU was renewed for three more seasons, through the 2022-2023 season, as part of a new deal between NBCUniversal and Wolf. NBC also renewed all three Chicago shows for three additional seasons as well.

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