Christopher Meloni is a hot piece. Detective Elliot Stabler was a hot piece too. Stabler was Meloni’s character on Law & Order: SVU. Meloni starred on the show for twelve years of (fictional) sex crimes alongside Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T. Meloni left the show abruptly in 2011. By then, I stopped watching! I think I stopped watching the year before he left, when the quality of the writing fell off a cliff. The show has, I believe, rebooted itself a few times with new supporting castmates and whatever, but back then, it was all about bizarre stunt-casting and I had enough. But I still think of Det. Stabler, and I know I’m not the only one. So… good news? Stabler is coming back!
A beloved TV character is coming back. NBC has given a 13-episode series order to a new Dick Wolf crime drama series starring Christopher Meloni reprising his Law & Order: SVU role as Elliot Stabler. The SVU spinoff drama, which marks the actor’s return to Wolf World, revolves around the NYPD organized crime unit led by Stabler (Meloni). It is the first show to come out of the massive new five-year, nine-figure, multi-platform deal Wolf signed with Universal Television last month, which includes multiple series commitments. Olmstead is being eyed as writer-showrunner.
Like Law & Order: SVU, headlined by Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson, the new drama is set in New York, allowing for potential seamless crossovers with SVU, set at another NYPD unit, and for Benson-Stabler reunions. With their undeniable on-screen chemistry and great rapport on and off the set, Hargitay and Meloni were one of television’s most popular duos for over a decade. Meloni was the male lead opposite Hargitay for SVU‘s first 12 seasons, with their characters both partners and best friends. Stabler is an Irish American who, during the time he was featured on SVU, was married (his wife Kathy was played by Isabel Gillies) with five children. The role earned Meloni a lead actor in a drama series Emmy nomination in 2006.
Meloni & Hargitay did have so much chemistry together. They were amazing. There was sexual tension, of course, but I loved that the writers just made their partnership a real, deep friendship and mutual respect and love for each other. I hope part of the deal is a BIG crossover where Stabler and Olivia Benson work together like old times.
As long as we’re bringing back old Law & Order characters, WTF ever happened to Bobby Goran (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Mike Logan (Chris Noth)??? It’s too late to bring back Lenny Briscoe (RIP) but what about Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin)? I would totally watch a Roaring ‘20s Law & Order reboot starring any and all of these great old characters.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Count me in for watching this.
Me too! He’s one of my favorite TV characters ever.
I still watch the re-runs of SVU and esp. the original L&O. I can practically quote script! lol.
I am SO HERE for the show, but ESPECIALLY the cross-overs!
This is the entertainment news we need right now! I loved the show but at some point had too much of the crimes portrayed. There’s only so much I can take. Loved the actors though.
I ordered the first few seasons of the original L&O on DVD years ago and loved them as well. Chris Noth was so good.
Someone gifted me the first three seasons of L&O years ago. They were so good. Methinks it’s time for a marathon given we’ll be stuck at home for a while.
I’m in.
Me, too! I’m a L&O junkie, the original (starting with the Lenny & McCoy years) being my favorite followed closely by SVU. I never got into Criminal Minds but actually did watch the lone season of L&O: LA (where my love of Corey Stoll began). So yeah…I’m definitely all in for this new one, especially with it bringing back Stabler.
L&O:UK was great too.
Ohhhh…I’ll have to try to find that. Thanks!
Check BBCA. They carried it.
Same with me for Corey Stoll! And, yes, check out Law and order U.K. I watched it on Netflix years ago. Don’t know if it’s still there.
I’m in and in addition to the above mentioned(love Jesse L. Martin)bring back S. Epatha Merkerson, Kathryn Erbe, Raul Esparza, Benjamin Bratt. The L&O universe has had so many great actors as series regulars. Dick Wolf does good tv.
There were some stand out guest stars too. Viola Davis wiped the floor with Vincent D’Onofrio in one episode of Criminal Intent and I still remember it vividly even though it was almost twenty years ago.
I can’t stand Whoopie Goldberg, but I watched her once on L&O CI take Vincent down too. He was insinuating she was living beyond her means and damn did she shut him up. I missed the CI episode with Whoopie, I’ve only seen Viola when she played a deadly skilled lawyer on SVU.
Viola also played a corrupt cop on SVU, IIRC. Mahershala Ali was a serial rapist. Adam Driver was a peeping Tom, Amanda Seyfried accused a young Black man of assaulting her when she was really partying with white frat guys, Sarah Paulson killed her parents, Jeremy Irons was a psychotherapist accused of pedophilia, Isabelle Huppert was a distraught mother. So many more. I think I’ve seen every episode of every version of L&O in existence.
I travel a lot for work and Law and Order became my hotel/treadmill staple. I could pretty much find a L&O rerun on any time of day on USA and, because each episode was self-contained, it didn’t matter which season it was from. While I liked the cast of SVU, some of the stories were too dark. Organized crime is a lot more fun.
I will definitely watch!! Love Christopher Meloni. I watch SVU now and then, but it’s just not the same without Stabler character.
My husband is going to lose his shit over this. I’ve never seen anyone so obsessed with all things law and order. It drives me insane because he’ll watch reruns ALL THE TIME, every night and all weekend. I can only take so much violence and crime, it brings me down after a few episodes. He makes fun of me for watching reality tv sometimes but I tell him at least I don’t watch depressing shit like that all the time, my brain needs a rest from seriousness.
Meloni did another TV show called Happy where he played an alcoholic detective who discovers he has a daughter and she’s in danger. He has an imaginary animated donkey sidekick. I watched a couple of episodes, it was quite funny, but then the show disappeared.
Oh my god, so good. And you see like 98% of him a few time too. Yes, please!
Meloni’s never really been my jam, but that header photo is hot.
Meloni needs to bring the kilt and the writers need to do better things with Kathy or get rid of her entirely
Please bring back Vincent D’Onofrio. I loved him. I thought that spin-off was the best one, and I loved VD’O’s chemistry with his co-star.
This is great news! I still like the early seasons of SVU and really liked the relationship with Stabler and Benson. The dream crossover episode would have Benson, Stabler and Barbra returning as ADA. Not really into the current season of SVU, but it may just be because the show has gone on for a while and a blast from the past could give it a nice jolt.
In the original L&O, I liked McCoy and Briscoe: they were tough and world-weary and sometimes cut corners, but they were the ones you wanted to be in your corner. Van Buren was a great example of a boss lady who was commanding but still wife, mother, woman.
I always thought Dick Wolf and his writers were able to create real, interesting characters: each character is flawed, none are perfect and just doesn’t always prevail. But the police and lawyers get up the next morning and try again. I also liked that many local NY actors were used in multiple roles throughout the different series.
Fun fact: I started watching SVU because Chris Meloni and Dean Winters were so good as charming sociopaths in “OZ”; I wanted to see how they would be as cops.
A few years ago, on the Tonys, an actor who was nominated was introduced by his L&O roles-he’d played a victim, a perp, a juror, a lawyer, and several other parts. I love that they use so many not well known theatre actors in their shows.
They did a great job of spotlighting theater actors and lesser-known actors in very different roles. It’s kind of fun to watch an L&O and/or SVU marathon and see how many times the same actor shows up!
And how many later went on to make it big-Mahershala Ali, Viola Davis, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, among others. Sarah Paulson’s very first credit was on L&O. She killed her parents.
I’ve got younger kids, so the highlight of an episode for me was always when the incomparable Bill Irwin, aka Sesame Street’s MR. NOODLE, made an appearance!! He was on frequently; once I saw back-to-back episodes with him as a criminal and then as an attorney. It’s a great show. My all-time favorite series regular was always Lenny, followed closely by Anita Van Buren and D.A. Adam Schiff. But they’re all great.
One of the really early eps had Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his roles. Jen garner flirted with Benjamin brat in the episode where they dealt with the aftermath of Claire Kincaid. There was also a teenage Sebastian Stan on either this one or svu.
@AMA1977: Bill Irwin still appears frequently in Law & Order: SVU to this day! He has the recurring role of Olivia Bensen’s psychologist on the show. I think he has appeared multiple times in each of the last five seasons.
Oh, my heart!
Meloni is insanely hot, I will watch him in anything.
My daughter will be thrilled by this news. She loves Christopher Meloni (as well as Stabler!). not least because he’s half Sardinian, just like she is!
Hooray, something to look forward too!
Yup, very happy about this news!
YESSSS! The most beautiful sculpted buttocks in television are back!
Dat’ ass!!!!
I haven’t seen him really since he left SVU, and I didn’t recognize him in that top picture–the brows threw me off. Still hot though.