Law & Order: Organized Crime viewers didn’t have an easy time last year while awaiting news of whether their beloved Elliot Stabler would return to the criminal underworld. Do not fear, though. Hotheaded Stabler will be back, and he’ll have Olivia Benson by his side at some point since Christopher Meloni wrote her into the fifth season because he knows the assignment.
Still, the road to renewal was a surprisingly delayed one. Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU were both re-upped by NBC while thumb twiddling began on the franchise’s darkest show, wherein the format is not serialized, and ongoing stories mean that defendants don’t commit their crimes, head to trial, and go to prison in the same episode. Indeed, this is a different type of Dick Wolf drama, and so, the decision was made to move Stabler to streaming on Peacock. And you know what? That’s alright. Let’s talk about what we can expect, long after the hot octopus villain, when Meloni comes back.
Plot
Despite the delay, Elliot Stabler’s career hasn’t changed much since “Stabler’s Lament” (which is the title of the most recent season finale). “The dangerous worlds of cross-border smuggling, high-tech domestic terrorism and a crime family intent on repaying Stabler for the injury he did them in Rome,” promises the season synopsis. “As his worlds collide, Stabler will put everything on the line to protect the vulnerable and fight for justice.”
As viewers also know, Stabler does not operate in a vacuum because it truly takes an NYPD village to keep him in the thick of underground crime syndicates. He remains on the job with Sergeant Ayanna Bell (Danielle Moné Truitt), Bobby Reyes (Rick Gonzalez), and Jet Slootmaekers (Ainsley Seiger). His brother, Randall, will also be on hand as portrayed by Dean Norris. And a new detective, Ted McKenna, will be portrayed by Jason Patric. (FWIW, NBC used the term “fang-tastic” while discussing The Lost Boys star in his casting announcement.)
Specific plot tidbits remain under wraps, but Dean Norris recently told TV Insider that this show will get even “edgier” now that they don’t have to stick to network TV constraints. And Stabler can cuss now? Definitely:
“It’s going to be great. There’s a lot of family stuff between me and my good buddy Chris Meloni, and I think you guys are going to love it. I’m really excited because it’s on Peacock. We can say the F word. It’s a lot edgier, it’s a lot more intense, and so it’s been kind of freeing in a way, creatively, to be on streaming, on Peacock, instead of on the network.”
Let the F-bombs begin. And if Peacock ever decides that they have had enough of Stabler’s potty mouth and cancel the series, Mariska Hargitay told the world that Meloni will always be welcome (in her eyes) on SVU.
Cast
Chris Meloni returns as the imperfect but dogged Elliot Stabler. Additionally, this season co-stars Danielle Moné Truitt, Rick Gonzalez, Ainsley Seiger, and Dean Norris. At least one guest appearance will be made by Mariska Hargitay, and Jason Patric will be doing the detective thing.
Release Date
Finally, the spin off series will return April 17 with two episodes with weekly drops for a total of 10 episodes.
Trailer
An Elliot Stabler-focused teaser is out for a single goal: “justice.”