In an ever-changing world, there are only a few things that we can always count on, and one of them is the on and off-screen relationship between Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay. We may never truly know if their characters ever end up together romantically, but these two are in it for life.
For the upcoming season of Law and Order: Organized Crime, Meloni is set to pen his first-ever episode. Not only that, but he also confirmed that Hargitay will pop over for a quick visit, “Oh, girlfriend’s coming on,” he told TODAY.
“It is awesome,” Meloni told PEOPLE of his new writing gig. “But it’s responsibility so I don’t want to mess it up,” he said. Law and Order: Organized Crime recently made the jump from NBC to Peacock ahead of season five. Meloni will write episode two of the season, which just began production.
Meloni also confirmed that there is much more to explore when it comes to Benson and Stabler’s longstanding relationship. “I know [Olivia] Benson will be with [Organized Crime] for a moment there,” he revealed. “I’m going to have an opportunity to… I don’t know,” he says. “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.”
This isn’t the first time the duo have teased the future of Bensler. Earlier this year, Hargitay was on board with exploring the budding romance. “I met his showrunner. They want us together, and Chris and I were talking about it, and it’s time. It’s time now for us,” the actress told Variety. “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.”
The 26th season of Law and Order: SVU will premiere on October 3rd on NBC.