Law & Order: SVU will soon be returning for its milestone 28th season as part of the 2026 TV schedule, with Law & Order returning for Season 26. The beloved Dick Wolf franchise just doesn’t seem to end but, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for the Christopher Meloni-led spinoff. Law & Order: Organized Crime was canceled by Peacock after just one season on the streamer and five seasons total. Fans have been wondering if Meloni will return to SVU as Elliot Stabler now and, after he was recently asked, he had a funny response.
There have been a handful of crossovers between SVU and Organized Crime, giving fans plenty of "Bensler" (Olivia Benson and Stabler)over the years. And, even with OC moving to Peacock, the crossovers continued. Now that Organized Crime is no more, fans have been as anxious as ever to see Elliot Stabler return to their screens. Meloni previously weighed in on the possibility, noting that he doesn’t make the decisions. And, when E! News tried to get an answer out of him, his straight expression and stare into the camera were all he had to give. Check out the Instagram post below:
Obviously, if Meloni were coming back to SVU, there is no way he’d spill the beans before the official announcement. But I just love how he doesn't even deny the rumors of his return and instead just lets his face do all the talking. From the look in his eyes and the way he stared directly at the camera, I get the feeling he is indeed returning. However, we still have to note that nothing has officially been announced, so we can't say anything is a done deal (yet).
Meloni’s potential return has been a hot topic for months. SVU showrunner Michele Fazekas previously made some good points about it, saying that they don’t want him to return just for the heck of it. Ideally, the producers don't want to drop Meloni's character into an unimportant scene. However, Fazekas would still “love to bring Stabler back around once in a while.” Her reasoning makes sense, and I just hope that the creative team makes good use of him if they bring him back.
At the very least, even if we don’t get Stabler back any time soon, Meloni is returning to the small screen. In April, he wrapped his Hulu NFL drama, The Land, from This Is Us and Paradise creator Dan Fogelman. The cast also includes William H. Macy, Mandy Moore, Chloe Bennet, Chace Crawford, Sam Corlett and Tanner Zagarino. As of now, Hulu has not announced a premiere date, but it might not be much longer until more information is shared.
While that show sounds exciting, I hope we haven’t seen the last of Elliot Stabler and that Christopher Meloni's funny face suggests he's trying to keep his return under wraps. If anything, though, fans can always watch all seasons of Law & Order: Organized Crime with a Peacock subscription. Also, Season 28 of Law & Order: SVU premieres on Thursday, October 8 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
