Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of Law & Order: SVU Season 27, called "A Waiver of Consent" and available streaming next day with a Peacock subscription, and the second episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 that aired in April.
Three full hours of Law & Order action are back on NBC this fall of the 2025 TV schedule, with new episodes of Law & Order, new episodes of SVU, and Season 5 episodes of Organized Crime. OC Season 5 already released in full with all the F-bombs that the actors could hope for on Peacock. While those F-bomb have been edited out for the NBC broadcast, there was one perk of the second episode of OC Season 5 airing right after SVU this fall. This time around, Olivia Benson's sudden appearance at her former partner's bedside makes perfect sense.
That's not to suggest that it wouldn't make sense in any scenario for Benson to visit Stabler on what could have been his deathbed, but SVU provided a transition that really helps make the whole Law & Order world feel more cohesive, despite the twist originally happening on OC in mid-April. I'm not sure what it says about the timeline within the L&O world, but I'm a fan, and this is really the first time that I missed having Christopher Meloni's show on network TV.
The scene took place in Benson's office at the very end of the latest episode of SVU Season 27, after she seemingly came to terms with newcomer Detective Griffin sticking around at least a little longer. Bruno came in with a worried expression on his face to tell her this:
Captain, I just got an urgent message from Sergeant Bell. Detective Stabler is in the hospital.
And because she has known Stabler for nearly three decades now, Benson immediately knew that it wasn't exactly because he sprained his ankle or needed his appendix removed. She grabbed her things and rushed out of her office... and if you watched the first two episodes of Organized Crime Season 5 after they released after the Law & Order/SVU crossover back in the spring, you know where this was going.
Mariska Hargitay crossed to Organized Crime for Episode 2 of the fifth season earlier this year, and her role was much more than just a quick cameo. Benson and Stabler partnered up again, and OC leaned on their longtime friendship rather than attempting to fan any romantic flames between them. (Christopher Meloni actually wrote the episode, so he's behind one of my favorite moments between Dean Norris as Randall Stabler and Benson.)
I so wish that the timing had somehow worked out for the scene with Bruno alerting Benson that her former partner had gotten himself into trouble for the 479th time (ballpark estimate) to air at the end of a new episode of SVU and directly lead into a brand new episode of Organized Crime. It was a reminder of the fun of the occasional crossovers – large and small – of the years when OC directly followed SVU in primetime.
Did I get a kick out of Stabler and Co. getting to drop some four-letter words on Peacock that would never fly on NBC? For sure. Would I be mad if Organized Crime was somehow renewed for Season 6 on the condition of moving back to NBC? I would not. Whatever happens, I can say this: I hope OC gets that renewal for either platform ASAP, and I appreciate that NBC brought back Law & Order Thursdays by editing OC for broadcast. Timeline be damned!
Keep tuning in to NBC on Thursdays starting at 8 p.m. ET for Law & Order Season 25, continuing with SVU Season 27 at 9 p.m. ET, and more of Organized Crime Season 5 at 10 p.m. ET. Along with the full fifth season of OC, you can also finds the latest episodes of the other two shows.
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