Christopher Meloni.Photo: David Livingston/Getty
Elliot Stabler is officially returning to the NYPD.
On Thursday, NBC announced the premiere date for the highly anticipatedLaw & Orderspinoff series,Law & Order: Organized Crime, starringChristopher Melonias Detective Stabler.
Along with Meloni, the new spinoff, from creator Dick Wolf, will also starDylan McDermottand Tamara Taylor. It will follow Stabler, who returns to the New York Police Department to battle organized crime. After adevastating personal loss, he will aim to rebuild his life as part of a new elite task force.
Meloni was an original cast member with costar Hargitay when theLaw & Order:SVUfranchise premiered in September 1999. After he left in 2011 when contract negotiations broke down, his character was written off the show in the season 12 finale as he retired from the police force.
Since his departure, demand for an Elliot and Olivia reunion has been vocalized amongst fans.
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In March, it was reported thatMeloni would be reprising his rolefor the spinoff, and in July, the actor confirmed his beloved costar would be making a cameo on the upcoming series.
During anappearanceonThe Talk, co-hostSharon Osbourneasked the 59-year-old actor if Hargitay, 57, would be reprising her role on the series and Meloni confirmed, “Oh yeah!”
“How much? I don’t know, because I hear she has her own day job,” he added. “I think whatever we can slice away, whatever the writers come up with. I think we will both be looking forward to playing with each other in each other’s sandbox.”
Since then, the onscreen power duo has shared several behind-the-scenesphotosfrom the upcoming reunion episode.
Last week,Hargitay posted a series of photosteasing the upcoming crossover.
Mariska Hargitay/instagram
In one black-and-white picture, Hargitay poses next to Meloni while filming on-location at a cemetery. Other shots show two director’s chairs, which feature the names their characters made famous onLaw & Order: SVU, with the back readingLaw & Order:Organized Crime.
“It’s all happening,” Hargitaycaptioned the post. “OC PTL.”
TheLaw & Ordercrossover is set for Thursday, April 1, withSVUairing at 9 p.m. ET andOrganized Crimepremiering at 10 p.m. ET, both on NBC.
source: people.com
