“Law & Order: Organized Crime” is dun-dun — or rather, done done, as the “Special Victims Unit” spinoff, has been canceled after five seasons.
Christopher Meloni, who reprised his “SVU” role as Elliot Stabler for the five seasons of “Organized Crime,” bid adieu to the “great ride” of playing the beloved hot-headed detective, and to thank fans for their decades-long support.
“I just saw that they announced ‘OC,’ ‘Organized Crime,’ won’t be coming back,” the Emmy nominee, 65, said in an Instagram video Thursday. “I want to take this moment to say thank you to the fans who not only helped give the character of Elliot Stabler life and longevity, but for sticking with him and welcoming him back. Good ride. It was a good ride.”
Meloni debuted the role of Stabler, the partner of Mariska Hargitay’s Detective Olivia Benson, in 1999, with the first season of “SVU,” and starred until he left in 2011, at the end of season 12.
“SVU,” which was renewed at NBC Thursday for its 28th season and remains America’s longest-running primetime drama ever, started as a spin-off of “Law & Order.” Meloni’s Stabler appeared in the original series three times and once in the short-lived “Law & Order: Trial by Jury.”
“Organized Crime” premiered in 2021, spawning multiple crossovers with “SVU,” where Stabler and Benson still have a will-they-won’t-they dynamic.
Meloni brought Stabler back to his “SVU” roots in seven episodes in 2021, across the 22nd and 23rd seasons of the latter. Stabler also featured in four episodes of season 24, between 2022 and 2023, as well as two 2025 episodes across the 26th and 27th seasons.
“I had a great time playing him,” Meloni said Thursday. “It was a great ride. But thank you. You helped give me a career that I never dreamed of, nearly 17-odd years.”