‘SVU’: Christopher Meloni to Guest Star as Stabler After ‘Organized Crime’ Crossover

Meloni Hargitay Law & Order SVU Season 7 Stabler Benson
Will Hart / © NBC/ Courtesy: Everett Collection

Yes, there are only 10 days until we see Christopher Meloni’s Elliot Stabler back on our screens in the Law & Order: SVU and Organized Crime crossover that launches his spinoff, but there’s already good news for fans: That won’t be the only time we see him working alongside his old squad.

“Three Benson/Stabler scenes today,” SVU showrunner Warren Leight tweeted on March 19, referring to Meloni and Mariska Hargitay’s characters. (Hargitay plays Stabler’s former partner and now SVU Captain Olivia Benson.) He also called out the directors they’ve been “blessed” with this season: Sebastian Silva, Norberto Barba, Juan José Campanella, Martha Mitchell, and Jean de Segonzac.

When a fan asked if those scenes were for the April 1 crossover, Leight revealed they “were for an SVU down the road.”

That tease came after Meloni posted photos on Instagram of himself, Hargitay, and Ice-T (who plays Sergeant Fin Tutuola).

“One of these folks is a newly minted Grammy winner,” he wrote, referring to Ice-T’s win for Best Metal Performance. “Working OT with OG’s on L&O:SVU.”

With the cast changes over the years, Hargitay and Ice-T are the only ones still remaining on SVU (now in its 22nd season) from Meloni’s time on the show (he left in 2011 after the first 12 seasons). The promos for the crossover focus on Stabler’s relationships with both characters. In one, Fin calls him out on not reaching out to anyone after he left the squad when he had to shoot a young woman opening fire in the precinct.

 

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“You know how so much time has passed you can’t reach out?” Stabler says. “Days turn into months turn into years, and I just kept waiting for the right moment.”

Then in another preview, he calls out to Olivia at a crime scene. It’s unclear if that’s tied to what brings him back into contact with his former partner. What we do know is that it’s up to SVU to keep the Stabler family safe after a threat. Will whatever case brings everyone together in the crossover come up again in this future SVU episode? Or will it be another case that necessitates both his old and new units (he’s going to be battling organized crime) to work together?

Law & Order: SVU, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC

Law & Order: Organized Crime, Series Premiere, Thursday, April 1, 10/9c, NBC