Fans of the Law and Order franchise can rejoice, as it’s finally been revealed when the spinoff show Organized Crime will be premiering. Christopher Meloni will star in the new series, reprising his Special Victims Unit character, Elliot Stabler. The actor revealed on his Instagram page that the highly anticipated show will debut on NBC on April 1.
Organized Crime will follow SVU in the 10 p.m. EST timeslot on Thursdays. Crossovers between the two shows have been confirmed, and a reunion between Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson and her old partner will happen sooner rather than later. The former partners — dubbed “Bensler” by viewers — haven’t been on screen together since 2011. The duo amassed quite the fandom over the years, with many people disappointed a romance never blossomed between the two. Whether a relationship could happen now that Stabler is back in New York City remains to be seen.
Meloni shared a behind-the-scenes photo with his 675,000 Instagram followers on February 4, along with the date reveal. The picture featured Meloni’s director’s chair with his name stitched into it, as well as the Verrazanno Bridge in the background. Snow could be seen on the ground, which would have come with the recent storm that pounded the northeast.
In the caption, Meloni told his followers to pull up a chair for Organized Crime’s official release.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CK4rvzsgHvy/
In under an hour, the post brought in over 52,000 likes and 1,600 plus comments. Stabler fans filled the comments section with the excitement for the news and hoped that it wasn’t an April Fools’ prank, given the premiere date.
“Best not April Fool us! I’ll cry,” one fan wrote.
“WELCOME HOME,” another added.
“Omg yesssss been waiting forever for that!!!” a third user wrote with a red heart emoji.
“It’s happening. Stabler is back. Bensler is back. 2021 finally coming through,” a fourth follower commented.
Organized Crime is still missing from NBC’s website, so there is no extra information regarding the series at this time. The one thing fans know to be true is that Benson and Stabler will appear on one another’s shows, which was proven in several behind-the-scenes selfies that Hargitay and Meloni shared on their social media pages earlier this year.
Rumors have suggested that Stabler will appear for a cameo on SVU before Organized Crime debuts. The former is currently on a small break, and shows will resume on February 18. That would mean there will be seven episodes of SVU before Organized Crime hits, so viewers shouldn’t expect Stabler to pop up for his cameo until March.
