Chris Meloni Teases Mariska Hargitay Cameo On ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’

The “Law & Order: Organized Crime” star talks about cats, cursing and a compass necklace in a new interview with TODAY.com.

Buckle up for a Bensler reunion?!Virginia Sherwood / NBC

Aug. 1, 2024, 8:00 PM GMT+7 / Source: TODAY
By MC Suhocki

With the recent news of “Law & Order: Organized Crime” moving from NBC to Peacock, there’s nothing but possibility for the beloved cast.

Cursing? Guest stars? The opportunities are endless! The show’s star, Chris Meloni, recently caught up with TODAY.com to discuss “OC” and his partnership with cat treat brand Temptations. Meloni is putting his crime skills to use as part of a new season of an interactive “true” crime podcast, “Catch a Cat Burglar: Purry Duty,” from the brand.

“I saw it as a faux serious courtroom docudrama kind of thing,” he explains, adding that the copy was “so funny,” he mixed in a “serious, tonal quality to the proceedings” in the hopes fans would be “on the edge of their seats.”

The true crime enthusiast and “Law & Order: Organized Crime” star narrated the“Catch a Cat Burglar: Purry Duty” podcast for Temptations. The TEMPTATIONS Brand

“It’s almost like old-time radio,” he adds.

Meloni’s fans were also on the edge of their seats during Season 4 of “OC,” which had a heavy focus on the family life of his character, Elliot Stabler. The show cast top-notch actors to play Stabler’s family members, including Dean Norris and Michael Trotter as Stabler’s brothers, Randall and Joe Jr. Ellen Burstyn previously joined the show in Season 2 as family matriarch Bernadette “Bernie” Stabler, a role that was originated on “Law & Order: SVU,” like Meloni’s.

Stabler’s life was filled with a lot of family drama in Season 4 of the series, which is moving from NBC to Peacock next season.NBC

As for what fans will be blessed with in the next season of “OC,” expect Stabler’s family to continue to be a large focus. Stabler’s brothers returned to his life after years away in Season 4, and the detective learned his youngest child, Eli, is expecting a baby with his girlfriend in the season finale.

“I’ve seen a little bit so far,” Meloni says about Season 5, which the “OC” team is “breaking” now.

“The family is involved,” he adds. “I’m always pushing for more of that. I like that dynamic, and I think the audience does, too.”

With the series moving from network to streaming, fans have been wondering if this means they will see Stabler curse now.

“Maybe so, probably so,” Meloni says.

As for whom Meloni would like to see Stabler curse at first, he says, “Maybe his brother Randall, or, I don’t know if Benson — it would be nice to have Benson and Stabler go at it.”

Capt. Olivia Benson, who, of course, is played by longtime “SVU” star Mariska Hargitay, didn’t make any guest appearances on the last season of “OC.” Her voice was heard a few times during voicemails Benson left for Stabler.

Meloni, who also says he is writing the second episode of the upcoming season of “OC,” says not to count out Hargitay appearing in Season 5.

“Oh, girlfriend’s coming on,” he says.

The last time fans saw Benson and Stabler share screen time was in the Season 3 finale of “OC.” The two former partners shared a touching moment when Stabler gifted Benson a compass necklace before he left for a work assignment.

Stabler helped care for Benson after she got shot in the “OC” Season 3 finale. We can’t wait to see these two on the screen together again!NBC

In January 2024, Hargitay exclusively told TODAY.com that she and Meloni designed the necklace for her character together and that she wanted Meloni’s “impact” on the necklace because he is “so thoughtful and specific and does such a deep dive on things like this that matter.”

“I wanted it to mean as much to him as it meant to me. So he’s the one that came up with what the (symbols on the compass) stood for,” she added.

Meloni says the necklace symbolizes “true north.”

“You know, you’re the star by which you navigate,” he explains. “It was kind of a fitting — we’ve both been navigating turbulent seas, whether it’s in the storytelling part of it or in the personal life part of the storytelling. I think the sense of navigation.”

Hargitay’s Capt. Benson wearing the compass necklace, which she loaned out in the “SVU” Season 25 finale to a victim’s mother. Will she get it back?NBC

“I think it’s apropos,” he adds.

Hargitay isn’t the only “SVU” star Meloni has collaborated with on “OC.” He also shared scenes with Dann Florek, who played Benson and Stabler’s captain, Donald Cragen, and Tamara Tunie, who portrayed medical examiner Melinda Warner.

Dann Florek, Tamara Tunie and Chris Meloni together in 2007.NBC

Meloni describes working with his old friends again as “profound.”

“It’s a lot of history, a lot of time, a lot of really fond and deep memories,” he says while reflecting on those experiences. “It’s kind of difficult to put into words. It’s the summation of, or a big part of, a career that I’ve been blessed with.”

Fans can stream the first four seasons of “Law & Order: Organized Crime” on Peacock now, and listen to episodes of Meloni’s “Purry Duty” podcast with Temptations beginning Aug. 1. On Aug. 7, listeners can vote “guilty” or “not guilty” on Spotify or the Temptations brand’s social media channels, before they learn the verdict in the final episode Aug. 15.