Mariska Hargitay Is 'Planning' a Law & Order Reunion with Christopher Meloni Despite Organized Crime's Move: 'It's Time'

"This was a long time not being in each other’s universe," said Hargitay of reuniting with Meloni

Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay
Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay. Photo:

Rob Latour/Shutterstock

Mariska Hargitay won't let a network change stop her from sharing the screen with Christopher Meloni.

Even though the Meloni-led spinoff Law & Order: Organized Crime is moving to Peacock for season 5, Hargitay, 60, says she's already planning for their characters to reunite in a Law & Order: SVU crossover episode.

"I’m actually planning on it. I just told him the other day. We had a party the other night, we saw each other," recalled Hargitay during a recent conversation with Variety. "It was heavenly. I met his showrunner. They want us together, and Chris and I were talking about it, and it’s time."

Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni on 'Law & Order: SVU'.

Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty

Fans have also been itching to see Hargitay's Captain Olivia Benson and Meloni's Detective Elliot Stable share the screen more ever since he returned to the Law & Order universe on season 22 of Law & Order: SVU.

"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," said Hargitay.

Although Meloni, 63, didn't appear in Law & Order: SVU season 25, viewers saw Hargitay speak to him on the phone after she gave away the compass necklace he had previously given her to “lead her to happiness."

Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson, Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins, Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler in 'Law & Order: Organized Crime'.
Mariska Hargitay, Kelli Giddish, and Christopher Meloni on 'Law & Order: Organized Crime'.

Will Hart/NBC/Getty

Noting that she hopes her character gets the necklace back in a future episode, she said Meloni was incorporated into the scene because he "gets it."

"If anyone understands how somebody could have needed it more than I do, he would. Because he lived it with me. I thought that was such an intimate scene, and I wanted to get his blessing. That was why we wrote that scene,” she told the outlet.

“It’s very much our relationship. It’s underneath. There’s so much that words don’t do," continued Hargitay. "One of the things that Chris and I do that’s so beautiful is when we read a scene, we’re always like, ‘Too much, we don’t need that much.’ Because so much of our communication is here [motions to her eyes]."

US actress Mariska Hargitay attends the 2021 Glamour Women of the Year Awards at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center on November 8, 2021 in New York City
Mariska Hargitay at the 2021 Glamour Women of the Year Awards.

Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty

In January, Hargitay told PEOPLE about their longstanding friendship, "We met, and the rest is history."

"It's iconic. [He’s] somebody who's changed my life so much, somebody I love," she added.

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC followed by Law & Order: Organized Crime, which moves to exclusively to Peacock for season 5.

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