Over the last few months, a rumor has been trickling down that Elliot Stabler could make a big return to Law & Order: SVU. Obviously, fans have been tickled about the potential to see Christopher Meloni’s Stabler and Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson reunite on the small screen. However, it looks like Christopher Meloni is just as in the dark about a guest stint possibility on the NBC show as everyone else. Here’s what he had to say in a recent interview:
No, because I heard that rumor along with everybody else. I have no idea where that came from or what that was about.
Well, I’m just going to state that Meloni’s comments to HuffPost Live really stink, mostly because the fanbase would be totally happy if the character came back—even for a one-off stint. (It was pretty cool when B.D. Wong came back, for instance.) Still, the comments aren't totally surprising. At least, they aren’t totally surprising once you consider the source of the rumor.
About a month ago, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit showrunner Warren Leight off-handedly remarked that he had been planning the series finale for the drama for some time. His plans included contacting Christopher Meloni to see if he would be willing to return for the finale. Sounds great, right? Well, there ended up being a rather big hitch to the plans.
The big hitch was that NBC ultimately opted to renew Law & Order for Season 18. Presumably, Warren Leight never got around to asking Christopher Meloni if he might be interested in returning for the finale, because the finale this spring will be a season finale rather than a big series finale meant to wrap everything up in a way that is fitting for fans. It seems that word-of-mouth then got people to think Elliot Stabler could return and word got to Meloni that he had been asked when he hadn’t.
Hopefully, however, that hasn’t soured him to any guest stints in the future. Theoretically Law & Order: SVU could end after Season 18… or it could continue churning out new episode in perpetuity. It’s still chugging along and doing pretty good ratings over at NBC, so it could be some time before that gravy train ends. Regardless, perhaps Warren Leight will eventually ask Christopher Meloni back for a special episode. And perhaps at that time, Meloni will be willing to accept.
In the meantime, Christopher Meloni is set to star in WGN America's upcoming original Underground, which actually hits the network tonight at 10 p.m. ET. Over at NBC, new episodes of Law & Order: SVU also air on Wednesdays, at 9 p.m. ET. You can check out what else the networks have coming up with our midseason TV premiere schedule. Or you can watch some trivia below...
Check back with Cinema Blend in the coming months for an update on the Christopher Meloni situation.
