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3 reasons the Elliot Stabler SVU spinoff is good for One Chicago

By Brittany Frederick

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT -- Season 1 -- Pictured: (l-r) Dean Winters as Detective Brian Cassidy, Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen, Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler, Michelle Hurd as Detective Monique Jefferies, Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch -- Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC
LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT -- Season 1 -- Pictured: (l-r) Dean Winters as Detective Brian Cassidy, Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen, Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler, Michelle Hurd as Detective Monique Jefferies, Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch -- Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC /
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SVU
STUDIO CITY, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 26: Actor Christopher Meloni visits ‘The IMDb Show’ on March 26, 2019 in Studio City, California. This episode of ‘The IMDb Show’ airs on April 25, 2019. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb) /

2. Matt Olmstead could possibly return

Reports say that Wolf Entertainment is looking at Matt Olmstead to be the showrunner of the SVU spinoff. That name should resonate immediately with One Chicago audiences—because Matt Olmstead is one of the founding members of the Chicago franchise.

Olmstead started as a writer and executive producer on Chicago Fire, then went on to co-create the spinoff Chicago PD with Dick Wolf. He also has an executive producer credit on Chicago Med and had one on Chicago Justice. The franchise viewers know and love wouldn’t be here without him. But Olmstead stepped down as PD showrunner in 2017 to pursue other projects—he’s gone on to produce ABC‘s short-lived The Crossing and is now working on ABC’s Stumptown.

Rick Eid took over as showrunner and executive producer afterward, and reaction to the change has been mixed. Some Chicago fans still miss Olmstead’s brand of storytelling, and if he does take the job running the Christopher Meloni series, that would bring him back into the Wolf universe.

It wouldn’t necessarily be limited to the Law & Order brand either. If there’s ever a crossover (and given who we’re talking about, that’ll at least be discussed), Olmstead could be writing for the One Chicago characters again. Or maybe he’s working on this show and comes up with an idea that may fit on a Chicago series; it wouldn’t be impossible to see him pen another episode. But he’s a big piece of our franchise history and he might just be about to come back.

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