It’s been nearly a decade since Christopher Meloni’s Elliot Stabler walked away from his detective role at the “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”
This spring, however, the popular officer returned to the popular crime drama.
This was a short-lived return, however. Meloni’s appearance on the hit drama series was brief. For some fans, this return wasn’t what they had expected.
In a recent article by famous television critic, Matt Roush addressed his theories as to why the popular detective was only briefly featured on “Law & Order: Special VIctim’s Unit.”
The actor’s appearance was a teaser for Meloni’s return to the “Law and Order” universe in “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”
Fans Loved the Stabler and Benson Partnership
One viewer asked the popular critic why he thought Stabler was returning to the “Law & Order” franchise with his own show. Rather than pairing with his former partner, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) yet again.
“I watched “Law&Oder: Organized Crime,” wrote the fan. “The one thing I kept thinking watching this glum, depressing revenge story is why isn’t Christoper Meloni back on SVU?”
The fan went on to note that pairing Hargitay and Meloni again each week on SVU could add another decade to the hit series.
“It’s actually quite a ‘screw you’ to the fans who have been campaigning for a reunion for a long time,” the fan added.
The famous critic responded by saying he hopes fans give Meloni’s new series a chance before they give up on the NBC crime drama. Roush noted that “Law & Order: Organized Crime” does is “a very different and more sterilized type of “Law & Order” show.
Meloni Liked the New Landscape of “Law & Order: Organized Crime”
Roush added that Meloni mentioned he liked the “idea of a recognizable character in an unrecognizable landscape.” Roush noted this is part of what drew him to the “Organized Crime” role.
“Neither Mariska nor I had bet on this reunion,” Meloni said in the interview.
The actor went on to say it was Dick Wolf who convinced him to return to the franchise. For Meloni, it was the producer’s “persuasive pitch,” that drew him back to the “Law and Order” franchise.
“I liked the idea of a recognizable character in an unrecognizable landscape,” he said. “The [NYPD] environment has changed, as has Stabler’s place in it. He has to grapple with and evolve on lots of issues.”
