‘Law & Order’: Christopher Meloni explains Mariska Hargitay’s friendship
‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ star Christopher Meloni talks with USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa about his friendship with Mariska Hargitay.
Dan Dan – Is that the end? Law & Order: Organized Crime was canceled after season 5.
NBC announced the cancellation of the crime show on Thursday, April 16, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.
The spinoff from producer Dick Wolf’s world of police procedurals aired on NBC for four seasons before moving to Peacock for its fifth season. The show follows Detective Elliot Stabler, with actor Christopher Meloni reprising his role from “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” now working for an organized crime task force.
Meloni addressed the cancellation in an emotional video on Thursday, April 16, as she thanked her fans as she fought back tears.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I saw you announce that ‘The OC,’ ‘Organized Crime,’ will not be coming back,” Meloni said. “So I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the fans who not only gave life and longevity to the character of Elliot Stabler, but also who stood by him and welcomed him back.”
He continued, his eyes beginning to well up with tears. “It’s been a good ride. It’s been a good ride. It’s been a lot of fun playing with him. It’s been a great ride, but thank you. You’ve given me a career I never dreamed of. It’s been almost 17 years.”
Meloni simply captioned the post, “Thank you OC/SVU fans. You gave me life.”
Meloni created the character of Stabler on “SVU” in its September 1999 season premiere.
He last appeared on the show in the season 12 finale, leaving the show in 2011 due to failed contract negotiations, leaving co-star Mariska Hargitay to lead the show alone. Empathetic and fiercely protective, Olivia Benson is now the captain of the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit in Manhattan, making her the longest-reigning character on prime-time television.
“This was a classic two-way show with her and Chris (Meloni). To go from a double star show to a single star show and survive and thrive is a miracle,” Wolf told USA TODAY in 2021. “Everyone at NBC expected the year after Chris left to be the last on the show, but she turned it around. It didn’t get a lot of attention, but it was a huge accomplishment. It’s amazing how the whole structure of the show changed.”
Organized Crime has produced multiple crossover episodes over the years with both Law & Order, currently in its 25th season, and Law & Order: SVU, which is in its historic 27th season, including the Season 5 premiere.
The show’s 10-episode fifth season premiered nearly a year after news of its cancellation broke, airing on Peacock on April 17, 2025, and then on NBC in the fall.
Meloni spoke to USA TODAY shortly before Season 5 aired, saying that sharing the screen with Hargitay was “like slipping into a warm bath, and you know what you’re going to get.”
“No problem. You can focus on making your scenes as honest and funny as possible without worrying about personality or quirky differences of opinion.”
Contributor: Ralphie Aversa, USA TODAY
