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

3. New story ideas – not just crossovers either

The obvious hook for why One Chicago enthusiasts should care about Christopher Meloni getting an SVU spinoff is the crossover potential. Law & Order: SVU has crossed over with the Windy City franchise four times, although it hasn’t done so since 2014.

What are the odds that Wolf might want to jump start that again, especially now that having his universes interconnected has become such a prominent part of his business (one only needs to look at this week’s Chicago PD and FBI crossover for proof of that)? Especially since Christopher Meloni didn’t get to be a part of any of those prior events?

NBC would almost definitely be up for the idea, because anything that could drive viewers to Peacock—whether it would be having Elliot Stabler drop into a Chicago show to spark curiosity or getting viewers to stream to see the second or third part of a crossover—would be a big plus from a business standpoint.

But it’s not just crossovers that makes this news interesting. The spinoff is going to be about the NYPD’s Organized Crime Unit, and that’s a whole other area of storytelling. It could inspire the One Chicago writers, particularly on Chicago PD, to venture out into other types of episodes beyond the primarily drugs and gangs cases that we see.

Maybe the One Chicago franchise will introduce other guest or supporting characters from different units beyond the ones we’ve already seen and broaden the horizons further. Or maybe it’ll just show that there’s potential to take the Chicago series into other specialized directions beyond Intelligence. We’re not to Chicago Parking Enforcement yet, but there’s still lots of other types of stories to tell.

For the latest SVU season 21 spoilers and news, plus more on all of Dick Wolf’s other series, follow the Dick Wolf category at One Chicago Center.