Law & Order: Organized Crime fans would normally be able to count on Elliot Stabler, Ayanna Bell, and the rest of the team returning to NBC's Law & Order Thursdays alongside SVU and the original series. This time around, however, Organized Crime is switching to streaming for Season 5 to become an original for Peacock Premium subscribers. Now, one star has confirmed that her work has begun on the new season, and that makes me think back on what Christopher Meloni suggested to CinemaBlend earlier in the 2024 TV schedule.
First things first!
Danielle Moné Truitt Drops Good News For Fans
Details were relatively scarce about Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 over the majority of the summer, to the point that Christopher Meloni and showrunner John Shiban were the only big names confirmed to be making the jump from NBC to Peacock. Fortunately, Danielle Moné Truitt – a.k.a. Sergeant Ayanna Bell – took to Instagram to share a photo and caption that could prompt viewers to breathe a sigh of relief:
Was there ever much doubt that Danielle Moné Truitt would be back as Bell in the fifth season? Maybe not, but the confirmation that she's back at work on Organized Crime is worth celebrating. After how the actress spoke about the "messiness" at the beginning of Season 4, it's hard to imagine the task force without Bell.
Rick Gonzalez, who plays Detective Bobby Reyes, dropped an "😂" emoji in Truitt's comment section, so I think we can take that as good news for his character as well. There are still more questions than answers about Season 5, and it was a bit of a bummer to get a promo for Law & Order Thursdays without Organized Crime, but cast members getting back to work gives hope that the show will return before the end of 2024.
For his part, Christopher Meloni has not yet posted about production beginning at the time of writing, but he did share some entertaining ideas with CinemaBlend earlier this summer.
What Christopher Meloni Told Us
While the SVU-turned-Organized Crime star didn't get back to work in NYC as early as Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T did for their NBC returns in early October, Meloni had a different project over the summer: the Catch A Cat Burglar: Purry Duty podcast. He explained to CinemaBlend what made him want to join the Temptations podcast, shortly after he returned from the Olympics and SVU fan encounters in Paris.
We also took some time to talk about his iconic character, and – in honor of his work on the podcast – whether Stabler is a cat person or a dog person. He had a very fun take, saying:
It's very funny because this literally just came up today, and I don't know. That would be a really funny thing for Stabler to have. I say that because I think he's a dog person, and I think he just likes reliable and straightforward and man's best friend, all that stuff. How about something that is far more independent? You know, it doesn't really need you. [laughs] I just think it'd be a funny dynamic. Him not quite being able to wrap his head around this thing and yet can't help himself from falling in love with it. I could just see it. I don't know. I'll bring it up at the next writers meeting.
A Law & Order show exploring Stabler falling in love is certainly something that plenty of fans have been interested in going back to 1999 with Stabler and Benson, but I for one would love to see Stabler hanging out with a cat on a regular basis. With the hours he keeps, what better kind of pet for him to have than one that doesn't really need him? A little bit of levity could come in handy on such a dark show as well. When I commented that Stabler should get a cat on Day 1 on Peacock, Meloni laughed and said:
In fact, he goes on the crime scene, trying to figure out the crime with me.
Well, that would certainly be a way for the franchise to reinvent itself after nearly 35 years on the air! Law & Order's various shows have done a lot over the decades, but never has the lead detective had a cat coworker. After I joked that I would definitely watch that version of Organized Crime, Meloni responded:
I know, right? Especially when we teach the cat. I say, 'What do you think?' And the cat goes, 'Meow!' And I'm like, 'You're right.’... In between scenes, instead of a 'dun dun,' there's just a purr. [laughs] I'm calling Dick Wolf, as soon as I get off this call with you.
Even with details scarce about the plot of Organized Crime Season 5, I think we can very safely rule out Stabler getting a cat partner in the move to Peacock. Still, hearing Meloni jokingly pitch a new cat cast member was pretty great as the wait continued for new developments, especially since the future for Stabler was so uncertain when the back half of Season 4 was airing prior to the Peacock renewal.
While there's still no premiere date, the cast getting back to work is encouraging. If you want to revisit the first four seasons of Law & Order: Organized Crime as the hiatus continues, you can find those episodes streaming on Peacock now. You can also check out Christopher Meloni's podcast work with the Catch a Cat Burglar: Purry Duty project, currently available on all major platforms.
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