Filming on Law & Order: SVU’s 23rd season is underway and Mariska Hargitay is giving fans a look at what to expect when the Special Victims Unit returns next month. The new photo even features former SVU costar Christopher Meloni, who is looking pretty limber to the point that I just can’t look away.
Mariska Hargitay shared a photo of her and Christopher Meloni, who seems to be doing some stretches behind her, on Instagram. The two of them were seemingly in the middle of a night shoot for SVU Season 23 and Hargitay’s hashtags might even be better than the picture itself:
Thanks to Christopher Meloni’s Law & Order spinoff, Organized Crime, the former costars have a lot more time to hang out. Fans were delighted to see “Bensler” together again for the first time in a decade earlier this year for the crossover that kicked off OC. These two Law & Order series are currently the only ones airing, as NBC passed on the For the Defense spinoff, so fans can expect crossovers featuring more Benson and Stabler moments without an influx of new spinoff characters in the mix.
Christopher Meloni was on Law & Order: SVU for the first twelve seasons, so when he came back to the franchise to star in his own spinoff and reunite with Mariska Hargitay, it was like Christmas for the Law & Order fans. While Stabler and Benson did get a somewhat messy reunion in SVU, fans were still excited to see Bensler together for the first time in years. And Hargitay has opened up before about what the fan response has meant to her and why this longtime partnership with Meloni is so special.
There is no telling just what Season 23 of Law & Order: SVU consist of, or how many crossovers there will be with Organized Crime, other than some especially heinous and vicious felonies. It’s possible that now that Organized Crime has found its footing, the crossovers could move into more of a One Chicago or Grey’s Anatomy/Station 19 territory, where it’s not all the time but the shows share characters a bit more often. One thing for sure is that Bensler fans are very dedicated to the former partners, and it's part of what makes the Law & Order fandom so great.
Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime return in just one month. Hopefully fans will get at least a little more Bensler content before the shows come back. Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni are both known for sharing behind-the-scenes content so one can only hope that doesn’t stop. Both shows return on Thursday, September 23, starting with SVU at 9 p.m. ET and Organized Crime at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, so be sure to tune in!
