Christopher Meloni to Reunite with Mariska Hargitay on Law & Order: Organized Crime

Christopher Meloni is writing an episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime for the show’s fifth season – which will star his former co-star and SVU icon, Mariska Hargitay.

The show centers on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit character Elliot Stabler (Meloni), a veteran detective who returns to the NYPD in New York following his wife’s murder.

Stabler joins the Organized Crime Task Force, led by Sergeant Ayanna Bell (Danielle Moné Truitt) – with the show renewed for a fifth season in April and moving to Peacock from NBC.

Meloni, 63, told People of writing the second episode of the fifth season: ‘It is awesome. But it’s responsibility so I don’t want to mess it up.’

While remaining coy on the possibility of him making a cameo in SVU – he revealed SVU’s Hargitay, 60, who has played Olivia Benson on the show since 1999 – will make an appearance on OC.

Christopher Meloni is writing an episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime for the show’s fifth season – which will star his former co-star and SVU icon, Mariska Hargitay – pictured on SVU as Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler)

The show centers on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit character Elliot Stabler (Meloni), a veteran detective who returns to the NYPD in New York following his wife’s murder 

He said: ‘I know [Olivia] Benson will be with OC for a moment there’ before hinting at romance between the pair – after 25 years of a ‘will they, won’t they’ storyline.

‘I’m going to have an opportunity to… I don’t know. I’ll tell you what. Hopefully, uncover, peel away a little bit more of the onion or uncover a little more depth of feeling between them.’

Hargitay previously told Variety she was up for reuniting with Meloni, saying: ‘I’m actually planning on it. I just told him the other day. We had a party the other night, we saw each other.

‘It was heavenly. I met his showrunner. They want us together, and Chris and I were talking about it, and it’s time.

‘It’s time now for us. This was a long time not being in each other’s universe. That’s why we did the calls and stuff like that. But we’re excited to get back in there, get back in the ring.’

Back in April was revealed the show had finalized a deal for an upcoming season featuring 10 episodes, which is significantly fewer than previous seasons, according to Deadline.

The month prior, it was reported that the series’ renewal wasn’t certain due to its relatively low ratings and multiple changes in showrunners.

Organized Crime’s shorter 10-episode season will also be getting a new home.

He said: ‘I know [Olivia] Benson will be with OC for a moment there’ before hinting at romance between the pair – after 25 years of a ‘will they, won’t they’ storyline

Instead of airing on NBC like other Law & Order shows, Organized Crime will find a new home on the network’s streaming service Peacock. 

The show will stream there exclusively, and fans will also be able to find episodes next-day episodes of other Wolf Entertainment shows, including the flagship Law & Order and SVU, as well as Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med.

Those shows are among the most popular on the steamer, according to Deadline, so it may be a logical fit to draw viewers’ attention to Organized Crime.

While season one of the show featured only eight episodes, its second and third seasons featured a standard network-sized order of 22 episodes each.

However, amid anemic ratings the fourth season was downgraded to just 13 episodes, and the streaming-only fifth season will cut that down further to 10 episodes.

Instead, the show features a notably darker tone, and he plays an even more obsessive version of the character than he debuted on SVU.

Organized Crime is also a structural departure, as it follows a serialized story instead of being a case-of-the-week show like most other Law & Order entries, which may turn off some viewers who prefer not to commit as much attention to the show and instead wish to simply tune in whenever they please.

Although moving to a new network is a rarity for Law & Order shows, it’s not the first time this has happened, as Law & Order: Criminal Intent previously aired its final four seasons on the USA Network after airing the first six on the franchise’s usual home, NBC.

In addition to Meloni, the cast is rounded out by Danielle Moné Truitt, Ainsley Seiger and Rick Gonzalez.

The show, which wrapped up its fourth season last month, centers on Stabler, a veteran detective who returns to the NYPD after his wife is murdered. 

The series was renewed for a smaller 10-episode season, and it will be moving from NBC to its streaming service Peacock; Christopher Meloni pictured on Organized Crime

The show centers on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit character Elliot Stabler (Meloni), a veteran detective who returns to the NYPD after his wife is murdered

Stabler joins the Organized Crime Task Force, led by Sergeant Ayanna Bell (Truitt).

Last month, Deadline reported that a renewal was up in the air, even as the flagship series and SVU were renewed for seasons 24 and 26, respectively.

Organized Crime has scored the lowest ratings of producer Dick Wolf’s NBC shows and has changed showrunners multiple times.

Matt Olmstead helmed the first season before he was replaced by The L Word’s Ilene Chaiken, who was then replaced by Barry O’Brien.

Bryan Goluboff was the initial season three showrunner, but he left after just three months, with replacement Sean Jablonski subsequently leaving due to ‘creative differences.’

David Graziano then replaced him, with John Shiban serving as showrunner for season four.

Organized Crime began airing in 2021.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which serves as a spinoff of the original Law & Order series, originally premiered in September of 1999.

Organized Crime may have suffered in the ratings because it takes a darker tone than other Law & Order shows, and it has a serialized storyline, rather than a case-of-the-week structure

Fans have delighted at seeing Meloni reuniting with former SVU costar Hargitay (R) in crossover episodes, but Organized Crime mostly keeps him working separately

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit had already been renewed for season 26 (pictured Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T in the show), but Organized Crime’s renewal was delayed due to low ratings and numerous changes in showrunners

The flagship Law & Order has been renewed for season 24 (pictured Camryn Manheim as Lt. Kate Dixon, Sam Waterston as DA Jack McCoy, Bruce Altman as Mayor Payne)

The Dick Wolf–created show, which stars Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson and Ice-T as Sergeant Odafin ‘Fin’ Tutuola, has since surpassed the episode count of its predecessor, and it has become one of the longest-running programs in television history.

The program’s newest season premiered in January, and NBC celebrated the show’s 25th anniversary by temporarily changing Rockefeller Plaza’s name to Olivia Benson Plaza.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s new season will also be the shortest in the show’s history, as it will only last for 13 episodes.

Law & Order ran for 20 seasons until its original cancellation, which took place in 2010. It was revived for a 21st season in 2021.