Meloni has met with “SVU” showrunner Michele Fazekas.

*Law & Order: SVU *EP hints at Christopher Meloni’s return in season 28

Meloni has met with “SVU” showrunner Michele Fazekas.

By Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale is a senior writer at **. She has been working at EW since July 2026. Her work has previously appeared on Us Weekly and J-14.

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August 19, 2026 2:16 p.m. ET

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Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler and Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson on ‘SVU’. Credit:

Will Hart/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

- *Law & Order: SVU *executive producer Peter Jankowski hinted at Christopher Meloni’s return to the show.

- He confirmed that Meloni had met with *SVU *showrunner Michele Fazekas.

- *SVU* is set to return for its 28th season in Oct.

Calling all Bensler shippers, *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit** *season 28 might just bring back Elliot Stabler.

*SVU *producer and Wolf Entertainment president Peter Jankowski confirmed to *Variety* in Mariska Hargitay’s cover story, published on Aug. 19, that Christopher Meloni had visited the NBC show’s base camp, located at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Details of his visit were kept under wraps, but Jankowski noted that Meloni had a meeting with *SVU *showrunner Michele Fazekas.

Meloni and Hargitay made their *SVU *debuts as Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson, respectively, when the show premiered in 1999. While Hargitay has continued to lead the show through 27 seasons, Meloni stepped away following the season 12 finale in 2011. It has been widely reported that Meloni left the show after a dispute over contract negotiations.

“I did not want him to leave,” Hargitay recalled. “I tried so hard to broker that, because it didn’t end great with them.”

Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler on ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’.

Scott Gries/PEACOCK

Meloni eventually returned as a guest star in 2021 before leading *Law & Order: Organized Crime*, which aired for five seasons before its cancellation this past April.

“It’s like when I left the last time,” Meloni told *Variety *in Thursday’s profile. “You’ve got to keep moving.”

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Fazekas — the first female showrunner in *SVU*’s history — previously hinted at bringing Meloni back into the fold.

“I love Meloni, and I will occasionally ask casting and see if Meloni’s available,” she told *NBC Insider* in May. “If I can get him, I definitely will.”

That being said, Meloni’s return has to make sense. Fazekas doesn’t want to bring him back as a “gag or a stunt” casting situation.

“It has to be meaningful and it has to come from these characters,” she explained. “There were at least two times this season where I was like, ‘Hey, is he around?’”

One of Meloni’s most recent guest appearances on the show holds tons of weight for viewers who have long been holding out for a romantic relationship between Olivia and Elliot. Season 24, episode 12 — which aired in January 2023 — featured a near-kiss between the two. However, Olivia pulled away, unwilling to ruin their friendship just yet.

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While Olivia and Elliot still have a lot to discuss onscreen, the friendship between their real-life counterparts is better than ever.

Meloni told *Variety *on Thursday that he and Hargitay had a connection “from the moment that we set eyes on each other.” That relationship has only gotten stronger.

“The key of it was humor. If you can communicate through humor, then you have a very tight bond. You experiment with how far you can go,” he explained. “Sometimes it can be very cutting. Sometimes it can be very close to the bone of truth. And if each person can withstand the shots — we may play rough with each other, but if we can communicate comfortably, we can figure out the other stuff.”

*Law and Order: SVU *will return to NBC with its 28th season on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 9 p.m. ET.

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Source: “EW Crime”