Fans of Law & Order: SVU were devastated back when season 12 ended with the departure of actor Christopher Meloni, who played Olivia Benson’s partner, Elliott Stabler. While he ultimately returned later on after working on other projects, the exit did leave Mariska Hargitay shaken, as she recently revealed.
Hargitay, who recently did work on a documentary around her mother, Jayne Mansfield, appeared on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast and discussed her feelings at the time. She revealed she had tried to fix things, saying a negotiation is ultimately what caused Meloni to leave. Meloni had been a part of the show since its premiere in 1999 before he left in 2011.
“I was devastated," Hargitay said. "I was devastated. It happened very quickly, and it was surprising.”
She did discuss Meloni’s work and how he went on to do a great job with his career in the meantime.
Now, Meloni has his own show within the world of Law & Order called Organized Crime. Even though he is no longer Olivia’s partner, they have done crossovers where the two have crossed paths since the show premiered in 2021. Fans have also been anticipating whether the two will end up together, which would be interesting given they are on separate shows.
Mariska Hargitay also discussed the bond between the two
The FBI franchise on CBS did this with two characters, Stuart Scola (John Boyd) and Nina Chase (Shantel VanSanten), when the latter moved to Most Wanted. However, with that show’s cancellation, we likely will see Nina reappear on FBI. Of course, whether anything more develops for Stabler and Benson will also depend on whether Organized Crime gets a pick-up.
At the time of the show’s announcement, Meloni said he felt “more comfortable in going back to this world” due to events in his personal life, via TV Insider. In his show Organized Crime, it follows Stabler as he returned to work following the murder of his wife. He moved to the Organized Crime Control Bureau and eventually worked his way up in the department.
In the podcast, Hargitay also discussed the bond she shares with Meloni, saying there’s a lot of love and respect between the two.
"We are just connected," she said. "We are so close. It’s like we’ve been through the battle together. We know each other so well. We love each other so much. We respect each other so much."
Law & Order: SVU is going into season 27 beginning in the fall of 2025 on NBC. Organized Crime is also still going strong, with season 5 premieringon Peacock beginning in April 2025. There has not been any new information about a season 6 of Organized Crime, but it could still air on Peacock like the latest season.
Season 5 had 10 episodes, with the finale airing on June 12, 2025. Fans can also stream all 5 seasons on the platform.
Make sure to stay tuned to One Chicago Center for more Law & Order franchise updates.