Chris Meloni Promises Mariska Hargitay Will Appear in Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5: ‘Oh, Girlfriend’s Coming On’

Law & Order: SVU‘s Capt. Olivia Benson will show up during Law & Order: Organized Crime‘s upcoming Season 5, series star Chris Meloni said Thursday. The characters have not shared a scene since the end of OC‘s third season, though they spoke on the phone in SVU‘s Season 25 finale in May.

“Oh, girlfriend’s coming on,” Meloni said on the Today show on Thursday. He also spoke about how he’s writing a Season 5 episode.

In May, Hargitay said that she and her sometime co-star had been plotting a way for their characters to interact in SVU‘s upcoming Season 26, OC‘s Season 5, or both.

“Chris and I were talking about it, and it’s time,” she said. “It’s time now for us. This was a long time not being in each other’s universe. That’s why we did the calls and stuff like that. But we’re excited to get back in there, get back in the ring.”

Longtime fans of the franchise are divided on the status of Benson and Stabler’s relationship: Some (aka ‘EO’ ‘shippers, named for Meloni’s Elliot and Mariska Hargitay‘s Olivia) really want the former SVU partners to be a romantic couple, and others really don’t.

Meloni told People that he wasn’t sure that he would appear in SVU‘s new season. But in OC, potentially in the episode he’s penning, “I’m going to have an opportunity to… I don’t know… I’ll tell you what. Hopefully, uncover, peel away a little bit more of the onion or uncover a little more depth of feeling between them.”

 

SVU will return on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 9/8c on NBC. OC‘s fifth season will stream on Peacock; a season premiere date has not yet been announced.

After Organized Crime‘s Season 5 renewal and subsequent move was announced, TVLine asked Jeff Bader, resident, program planning strategy, NBCUniversal Entertainment, what would become of the crossover events. “I want to say yes” to crossovers, he said with a laugh. “But no, we have not heard anything about the creative for next season yet.”