The holiday season is upon us, and that tends to mean Christmas specials and festive cheer on television. Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime aren’t the merriest shows on TV, but the shows are crossing over with a holiday twist. While the crossover probably isn’t going to be packed with holly and mistletoe and carolers, stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni are hyping the SVU/OC crossover for fans.
The stars didn’t hit social media to post sneak peeks at the episodes of their shows, or drop the juicy spoilers that fans may be hoping for after a few weeks without new content, but the pictures they posted do the trick to ramp up excitement for what’s in store. Check out what Mariska Hargitay chose to hype the crossover that airs on December 9:
Considering Benson and Stabler rarely find reasons to smile that broadly, it's safe to say that this is a shot of Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni themselves rather than a behind-the-scenes shot at them in character for the crossover. It’s definitely nice to see them looking so happy, though! Even when their characters’ conversations aren’t about heinous crimes, there tends to be tension between them since his return.
Plus, Meloni shaved his Eddie Wagner beard! For some fans, that may seem like a Christmas gift itself. He posted an image from the same outing to hype the crossover, although his pic revealed another person who was with them: none other than super-producer and Law & Order creator Dick Wolf himself. Take a look:
Did these posts do anything other than reveal the team hanging out together and reminding that the shows return on Thursday? Maybe not, but Hargitay and Meloni posting images together might be more effective at drawing viewers than if they’d just posted episode photos. Who doesn’t want to imagine their characters getting to look happy together again?
The odds of a holly jolly Law & Order Christmas honestly aren’t the best. The SVU half of the crossover actually won’t be as holiday-themed as the OC half, as SVU will be concerned with Richard Wheatley’s trial for the murder of Kathy Stabler. Plus, Barba will be on board as Wheatley’s defense attorney, so there will be a lot happening that doesn’t concern Christmas.
That’s not the story for Organized Crime, however. The OC half of the crossover is quite literally called “The Christmas Episode” and will feature Stabler recruiting Benson and the rest of the task force to find Eli after he goes missing. I’m just hoping that he only brings Benson in because he trusts her and her skills as an investigator, and not because they suspect anything heinous that would attract the attention of Special Victims has happened to him.
The crossover two-parter will actually be comprised of the fall finales of both SVU and OC, so the shows will be heading into a hiatus for a few weeks afterward. Interestingly, SVU will air a standalone Christmas-themed episode… but not until the new year. Give Me My Remote reports that SVU will catch a case on Christmas Eve that involves the returns of Donal Logue as Declan Murphy and Ari’el Stachel as Sergeant Khaldun, plus guest star Jason Biggs as a detective. The episode airs in January.
For now, though, you can look forward to the fall finale crossover between Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime on Thursday, December 9 starting at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. For when these shows will return in the new year (as well as the premiere of the original Law & Order’s revival), check out our 2022 winter and spring premiere schedule.
