‘Law & Order: SVU’ showrunner addresses potential fan-favorite return amid unresolved relationship tension
'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' showrunner Michele Fazekas isn't ignorant of what the fans of the long-running franchise really want. However, as it turns out, giving the people what they want might be trickier than expected. In a recent sit-down with PEOPLE magazine, Fazekas was asked if there's any particular storyline that she still wants to explore on the NBC show. In response, the showrunner was quick to think of one original and former series regular character.
Fazekas explained, "Obviously, everyone's always asking me about Stabler, and I love (Christopher) Meloni. I would use him as much as he wants to. I tried to!" Ever since 'Law & Order' debuted back in 1999, Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson and Meloni's Elliot Stabler have been long-time work partners, solving cases and putting bad guys away together. Although the partnership ended when Meloni left the original show in 2011, fans of the franchise have been demanding a satisfying closure to the relationship between Benson and Stabler. In the aftermath of his exit from 'Law & Order,' Meloni returned to the fold in 2021 for the spinoff 'Law & Order: Organized Crime'. He led the spinoff by himself, and it aired for five seasons on NBC and Peacock before being canceled.
Soon after the announcement that 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' won't be returning for Season 6, Meloni took to his Instagram page to share a heartfelt note of gratitude. He remarked, "I wanted to take this moment to say thank you to the fans, who not only helped give the character of Elliot Stabler life and longevity, but also for sticking with him and welcoming him back." Fans have remained invested in every Benson and Stabler reunion scene. Nevertheless, Fazekas went on to state that the scenes involving the two of them were particularly difficult to execute, as the creative team had to account for the massive audience expectations while filming. "(Meloni's) very, very busy," Fazekas explained, "I tried to bring him into this. I'll just sometimes ask the question like, 'Hey, is he working?' "It's like, 'Oh yes, of course he's working.'"
Despite working together for so many years, both Stabler and Benson have never taken their relationship beyond the level of flirting with the idea of a romance. There was that one time when the two of them came quite close to each other. Unfortunately, the moment was canceled by the network at the last moment. Speaking in a 2024 interview, Hargitay had explained, "To be honest with you, Chris and I thought it should go one way and the powers that be didn't, so it got changed at the last minute, that near kiss. Obviously, Dick (Wolf, the show's creator) gets the final say. It's his show, and he didn't want that."
