I’ve been missing Elliot Stabler since he walked away from the Special Victims Unit (and Olivia Benson, sob!) on Law & Order: SVU at the end of Season 12. That’s why, when it was announced earlier this year that Christopher Meloni would be reprising the role in his own spinoff show, I lost my damn mind. Details about the series have been sparse, but now we know a little more, like that Law & Order: Organized Crime will premiere this fall!
- So what’s it going to be about? According to the few details we know, Stabler is back at the NYPD to fight organized crime after suffering a “devastating personal loss,” though it’s unclear what that loss might be. As the synopsis continues, “However, the city and police department have changed dramatically in the decade he’s been away, and he must adapt to a criminal justice system in the midst of its own moment of reckoning. Throughout the series, we will follow Stabler’s journey to find absolution and rebuild his life, while leading a new elite task force that is taking apart the city’s most powerful criminal syndicates one by one.” Oh man, I seriously can’t wait!
- Law & Order: Organized Crime will air on Thursday nights. It’s the only addition to the lineup, which goes to show just how much NBC believes in the power of Meloni and the fans’ love for Eliot Stabler. The series will occupy the 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. slot that previously held now-canceled comedy series like The Good Place, Will & Grace, Sunnyside, Perfect Harmony, and Indebted, Deadline reports. SVU will air an hour earlier in the 9 p.m. slot.
- We probably have a while longer to wait. While most fall TV seasons kick off somewhere around mid- to late September, it’s unlikely that episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime will be ready quite in time. Even if Meloni is raring to go, as I imagine he might be, social distancing measures that are necessary due to coronavirus will likely prevent filming from starting or progressing as quickly as people would like. That means it’s likely that we’re looking at a delayed start, potentially in October or even November. Hey, at least we know it’s coming at all!
- This show can’t come soon enough. We’ve all gone without Meloni long enough! It’s time to bring Stabler back to the force where he belongs. In the meantime, we also get to look forward to Stabler and Benson being reunited since Meloni is slated to appear in the SVU season premiere.
