There’s no arguing the impact that Christopher Meloni continues to make on the 2025 TV schedule — and pop culture as a whole — after over two decades of playing detective Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU and Organized Crime. However, Meloni’s got something new in the works, as he’s set to portray an NFL coach in an upcoming drama series on Hulu, and fans seem fully on board with this “fire” casting choice.
In an announcement that may inspire some to reconsider their decision to drop Hulu, the as-yet-untitled series will be written and executive produced by Dan Fogelman, the brain behind popular series like This Is Us and Paradise (which received several 2025 Emmy nominations). Christopher Meloni will play the head coach of an NFL team, per Deadline, in a drama set inside the world of the NFL with a generational family component. Fogelman himself welcomed the actor to the team, posting the news on Instagram with the words:
Got our coach!
There are few details at this point about the sports-related series, but this news alone was enough to win people over. Hollywood stars and fans alike hit the comments to express their excitement over the casting decision, with one emoji seeming to show up again and again:
- This is fire. 🔥– rachelharris
- 🏈🔥 – hollyrpeete
- Oh this will be so good 🔥– ashleighmcphie
- Ohh Coach Meloni 🔥🔥– naciawalsh
- Where is the love button? This is awesome! He’s such a genuinely nice guy. I waited on him and his wife and he remembered me when I was doing background on SVU!🙏🏻– alexandrakekeris
- This is very exciting! Chris Meloni is a hell of an actor good choice! – kathyr_costello
Yeah, I can totally see Christopher Meloni as an NFL coach. He has the gravitas in spades, and I can certainly picture him screaming commands to players on the field or flipping out on the refs from the sideline.
While the fate of Law & Order: Organized Crime (streaming with a Peacock subscription) remains up in the air after Season 5 ended this spring, fans of the crime spinoff apparently don’t need to worry about Dan Fogelman’s NFL series interfering. Deadline reports that if Organized Crime does get a sixth season, Christopher Meloni will be able to do both projects.
It certainly appears that the actor likes to stay busy. He’s also competed on Celebrity Jeopardy! in the past couple of years and provided his voice to series including American Dad!, Harley Quinn, Family Guy, Rick and Morty, Bless the Harts, Solar Opposites and Captain Fall. He’s also set to appear in the upcoming Netflix movie Little Brother, which stars John Cena, Eric André and Michelle Monaghan.
I’m excited to get more details about the upcoming drama that will have Christopher Meloni playing an NFL coach — including who will be starring alongside him. While we wait for updates, make sure your Hulu subscription is ready to go so you can check out other series from Dan Fogelman, including the aforementioned This Is Us and Paradise.
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