We're a full month into the 2025 TV schedule by this point, but Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 still has not received a premiere date on Peacock. It will be the show's first season as a streaming original rather than an NBC series airing after Law & Order: SVU on Thursday nights, but it was the latest NBC Thursday that made me start missing Christopher Meloni's spinoff all over again, and it's all because of a promo that confirmed the next mini crossover in the Law & Order world. Tony Goldwyn is joining Mariska Hargitay in just a couple weeks.
The preview that aired after the latest episode of SVU, which is available streaming now with a Peacock subscription and also dropped an intriguing mention of Benson's backstory, mostly looks like business as usual for the show about – to quote the opening narration – "sexually-based offenses" that are "considered especially heinous." That is, until a quick shot of Law & Order series regular Tony Goldwyn in a car as DA Nick Baxter, seemingly meeting with Peter Scanavino's ADA Carisi and Captain Benson herself. Take a look:
There's no reason to believe that this episode of SVU will include any more allusions to Organized Crime than usual... which is to say, no allusions to Organized Crime. Still, seeing two of the three current Law & Order shows sharing characters reminds me of when there were three NBC shows' worth of characters to share, and OC has some of the most interesting figures in the L&O corner of the nine-show Dick Wolf TV universe.
Plus, some newcomers are on the way who sound like intriguing additions to the world, such as Wayward Pines' Jason Patrick as a new detective and a Criminal Minds alum playing a character with ties to Stabler's past. I'm not sure what the departure of showrunner John Shiban means for the timeline for Season 5, but I'm hoping it premieres before the season finales of Law & Order and especially SVU, which presumably air in May.
And yes, I'm one of many who enjoy seeing Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay occasionally on the same show after they spent more than a decade playing partners on SVU, although I'm definitely not among those who were devastated by SVU's Benson/Stabler kiss fake-out. The two actors are just great on screen together, and not many TV duos have nearly as much history. Whether the characters are getting along swimmingly or Stabler is reminding me of how he handled The Letter, they're never boring!
So, is there any chance of an OC character showing up on one of NBC's current Law & Order shows before the end of the 2024-2025 TV season? My fingers are certainly crossed. For some reason, though, I can more easily imagine SVU characters showing up on Organized Crime. Perhaps that's just because it's fun to wonder who would be most likely to swear on Peacock vs. what can be said on NBC!
For now, fans can always keep tuning in to NBC on Thursday nights for a double dose of Law & Order and revisit the first four seasons of Organized Crime on Peacock. Tony Goldwyn brings Nick Baxter to SVU in the next new episode on February 13.
