If new images are right, there might be a lot more crossovers this season between Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Mariska Hargitay has been sharing on-set photos, one tongue-in-cheek and the other more serious, that indicate that the two popular NBC hits will be seeing more team-ups this fall.
The Law & Order universe expands
When Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered in 1999, it didn’t take long for some crossover with the mothership Law & Order series to begin.
It started slowly as Benson and Stabler would occasionally run into Briscoe and Green while on a case. There was also Jack McCoy dropping in on the SVU team and giving advice to Alex Cabot.
A notable 2005 story began in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and concluded on Law & Order: Trial By Jury. There were also crossovers between the Law & Order: Criminal Intent and the short-lived Law & Order: L.A. series.
After years of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit being the only series in the franchise, the crossovers returned in 2021 with the return of Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler.
A Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode in April set up Stabler’s search for who shot his wife, which led to the premiere of Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Throughout the first season of Law & Order: Organized Crime, Mariska Hargitay would pop in as Olivia Benson, trying to help her former partner through his grief.
Now, the actress is sharing behind-the-scenes pictures that indicate there will be more crossovers between the shows.
The new crossovers coming to Law & Order?
The first image was Hargitay playing with Meloni, which began with Meloni claiming to have “broken the Internet” with a magazine photoshoot.
The two traded “dramatic” social media posts with Meloni recruiting Ellen Burstyn (who reprises her role as Stabler’s mother on Season 2 of Law & Order: Organized Crime) to talk to Hargitay.
Hargitay replied by posting a video of herself referring to Burstyn as “my mother-in-law.” She added that she was filming her own show and “you don’t even know what’s happening as our shows are so separate.”
Stepping into the camera was Danielle Moné Truitt, who plays Ayanna Bell on Law & Order: Organized Crime, giving a smile and whispering “hi, Chris” to her co-star.
Hargitay then posted a new photo of her and Meloni filming a night scene together. The actress was shown sitting with her right foot in a cast as she’s still recovering from a broken ankle. Meloni had his own leg propped up by the car door.
Hargitay added several intriguing hashtags of “getingtalegup,” “strechinthelimits’, “cakewalk”, “thsishowhedoesit” and “hangingwithstretch”
What kind of crossovers can happen on the Law & Order shows?
This indicates that Stabler and Benson will continue to work together on some cases between the two series. The final scene of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 22 had Benson and Stabler sharing a drink together at the party following Finn’s canceled wedding and musing about seeing Rollins and Carisi kissing.
While there are no details on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 23 episodes, it’s confirmed Law & Order: Organized Crime will have Stabler’s unit continuing to deal with corrupt CEO Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott) while Vinnie Jones will play a new mobster foe.
Obviously, fans are hopeful that a development can be the long-wanted Stabler/Benson romance coming true. Stabler is still in mourning over his wife, with Benson helping him out and caring for her former partner.
This fall was to have a “Law & Order Thursday” with the planned Law & Order: For the Defense spin-off. However, NBC halted development on the third show in July, meaning only two Law & Order series for this year.
With production underway, fans are hopeful that these pics mean a lot more crossover between the two Law & Order series to thrill fans.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 23 premieres at 8/7 EST Thursday, September 23 on NBC, followed by the premiere of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2 at 10/9 EST.