Mariska Hargitay, star of Law & Order: SVU, recently reunited with her on-screen partner Chris Meloni, and fans are eagerly anticipating more scenes with the iconic duo.
Mariska Hargitay Teases More ‘SVU’ Reunions with Chris Meloni
Hargitay has expressed excitement about seeing Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler together again on screen. Meloni, who hasn’t appeared on SVU since Season 22, has been referenced periodically, but the characters have yet to fully reunite. In a recent interview with Variety, Hargitay revealed that she’s been in touch with Meloni about a potential reunion.
“I’m actually planning on it,” she shared. “I just told him the other day. We had a party the other night, we saw each other. It was heavenly. I met his showrunner. They want us together, and Chris and I were talking about it, and it’s time. It’s time now for us. This was a long time not being in each other’s universe. That’s why we did the calls and stuff like that. But we’re excited to get back in there, get back in the ring.”
The last time Olivia Benson and Stabler were together, they almost took their relationship to a romantic level, nearly sharing a kiss. Both Hargitay and Meloni felt their characters should have gone through with it, but they were overruled by show creator Dick Wolf.
“To be honest with you, Chris and I thought it should go one way and the powers that be didn’t, so it got changed at the last minute, that near kiss,” Hargitay explained. “Obviously Dick gets final say. It’s his show and he didn’t want that.”
Why Chris Meloni Hasn’t Reunited with Mariska Hargitay on ‘SVU’ Yet
Meloni has been busy with his role in Law & Order: Organized Crime, which has kept him from making frequent appearances on SVU. Current SVU showrunners David Graziano and Julie Martin have expressed their desire to see a crossover but acknowledge the logistical challenges.
“That’s something we hotly debate back and forth here every day, and some of the considerations about Benson and Stabler have nothing to do with narrative and they’re about just logistics of these two actors’ busy schedules,” Graziano told Today. “Chris Meloni is in every single scene of that show, and they just can’t lend him out the same way we can sort of give them Mariska for a day or two. Even when we give her over there for a day or two, we feel hobbled without her.”
It’s clear that when Benson and Stabler do reunite, their relationship won’t be simple or immediate.
“We have a responsibility to Benson as a character, too. There have been a lot of events that have happened in Organized Crime and also on our show, SVU, that would seem to preclude an easy relationship with the two of them,” Graziano said. “And so I think there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be unpacked first. Like, I think one of the fans wrote me about this, and I said something to the effect of like I think true love prevails in the end. I’m a firm believer in true love prevailing dramatically if not in real life. But before you can have a healthy relationship like that, if you have some monsters under your bed, you have to slay those first. Otherwise, they’re going to follow you into that relationship.”
Fans can remain hopeful that Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler will eventually reunite on SVU, and when they do, it promises to be a memorable and emotionally charged event.
