Law & Order: Organized Crime has officially wrapped with Olivia Benson!
On Saturday (May 22), the stars wrapped up the first season of the Organized Crime spinoff that stars Detective Elliot Stabler.
“And that’s a wrap 🎬 for me on the #OC #SVUxOC,” Mariska Hargitay wrote on Instagram. Both Hargitay and Chris Meloni shared photos from their phones of the selfie moment from different perspectives.
As the Law & Order spinoff series premiered this year, fans were utterly thrilled! The fanbase eagerly welcomed Meloni’s return. Meloni left SVU in 2011 after 12 seasons as partners on the show. Meloni’s return to the Law & Order family was perfect timing for him and for fans alike. He was more than welcome to return to his role.
‘Law & Order’ Crossovers
“It was pretty overwhelming,” Meloni said of the positive fan reaction to People. “I think [Hargitay] was expecting it more than I was, because I think she’s been in the Law and Order stew, she’s been in that world continuously for the 20 years. I was not prepared. It’s overwhelming and it’s wonderful and it’s very appreciated.”
At first, playing Stabler was stressful, having to play such an iconic role on such a historic series. Now that he returned, there is less stress for him.
“This time around, I think the pressure’s off,” he added. “I feel less pressure than I did when Dick first tasked me with being Elliot Stabler. So I’m a little freer to appreciate everything. It’s a nice journey.”
When the two former co-stars reunited, it was highly emotional for the cast and crew.
Meloni was at a nighttime location shoot for a scene in Thursday’s Law & Order: SVU two-hour crossover event (NBC, 9/8c), which also will serve as the premiere for his spinoff, Organized Crime. He was leaving his trailer just as a woman happened to walk by.
“She goes, ‘Oh my God, oh my God,’ and she stars hyperventilating,” Meloni recalled. “Tears start swelling and forming in her eyes. I’m like, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ She goes, ‘No, you don’t understand: You’re the reason I became a cop.’” He laughs. “That was my introduction back to the meaning and the power and the place that my character — and our characters — have held in the consciousness of many people. It was nice.”
