“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” would be very different without the influence of Christopher Meloni’s mother. During Monday’s episode of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Meloni and his SVU co-star Mariska Hargitay opened up about the beloved NBC crime drama and how it initially had a different title.
In their conversation with the host, Meloni, 60, noted how the show’s original title was “Sex Crimes,” though it never aired with that name. He then recounted getting the role of Detective Elliot Stabler, and his mom’s concern over the series’ title.
“It was called ‘Sex Crimes’ and I literally went, ‘Okay…'” he skeptically recalled. “As did my mother because when we got it, when we screen-tested and we got it, I go, ‘Mom, I got it!'”
“[She said] ‘You got what?’ [and I said,] ‘I’m on ‘Sex Crimes’!'” he added. “She’s like, ‘Can they change the name?'”
According to Hargitay, 58, Meloni’s mom was so passionate about changing the title that she eventually went to the show’s creator herself. “And then she called Dick [Wolf] and he did change the name!” she said.
Though the title was officially changed, neither Hargitay nor Meloni was the first to know when it happened.
“We were actually beginning to do a little publicity for it and one of the publicists ran up to us — we’re doing a little publicity line and I said ‘It’s great to be working on the great new show, ‘Sex Crimes” — and she came running up ‘Hey! Don’t ever say those words again!'” Meloni recalled. “[It’s] SVU.”
“Nobody will watch a show called ‘Sex Crimes,'” Hargitay joked.
“Law & Order: SVU” premiered on NBC in September 1999 and has been on the air for 23 seasons, becoming the longest-running primetime live-action series in the history of U.S. television.
On the show, Meloni plays Elliot Stabler while Hargitay portrays his partner Olivia Benson. The pair starred alongside each other for the first 12 seasons of SVU until Meloni departed in 2011. He has since returned to the franchise and is now starring in his own spin-off series, “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”
During their interview with Meyers, the SVU stars also mentioned their unique chemistry upon first meeting.
“You never think that, after being a struggling actor for so long, that any show’s gonna go,” Hargitay explained. “But this was a unique audition for us because when we met, there was a certain chemistry, so I actually wasn’t nervous at the audition.”
“But you never think what happened [with the show’s fame] would happen,” she added. “You can’t dream it!”
Since reuniting last year, SVU fans have continued to hold out hope that Elliot and Olivia’s friendship will eventually turn romantic, thanks in part to Meloni and Hargitay’s social media trolling.
In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Hargitay said the show is “taking it one step at a time” regarding Olivia’s evolving relationship with Elliot.
“It’s such a complicated relationship that I think we just want to respect the complexity and the nuance of it,” she explained. “He’s in a new job and he’s sort of unbalanced … But what we do know is that Olivia loves him, will always love him, will always be there and they have a bond like no other.”
Added Meloni of a potential relationship with Olivia: “In the future, I don’t not see it. That might be very satisfying for a lot of people, I’ll leave it at that.”
The pair have also spoken about their on-screen chemistry, with Meloni telling PEOPLE last year of their reunion, “It was Pavlovian: Ring that bell, and you get right into Stabler and Benson.”
“There was so much shorthand between us, which all goes back to the trust we have,” Hargitay mused. “He’s always made me feel like I could just jump off the ledge, the cliff, the bridge, and he would catch me, in so many ways, whether it was comedy or acting or friendship.”
“It’s simple,” Meloni added. “We have each other’s back.”
“Law & Order: SVU” and “Law & Order: Organized Crime” air Thursdays on NBC.