It looks like it’s going to be an even longer wait to see Christopher Meloni back as Stabler inLaw & Order: Organized Crime. TheSVUspin-off series just lost its showrunner. Matt Olmstead has stepped down as writer-showrunner and there reportedly is no immediate replacement. It was announced back at the end of August that the new show was going to be delayed until January 2021 because of the public health crisis, but the wait will now be longer due to behind-the-scenes changes.
It’s not clear why Matt Olmstead stepped down fromLaw & Order: Organized Crime, but NBC did reveal they will announce a replacement when it’s “appropriate.” TheSVU spin-offwas given a series order back in March, which gaveLaw & Orderfans a lot to be excited about. The Elliott Stabler character has not been involved in the past 12 seasons of the hit series and it was said that he retired. As for what fans can expect, Christopher Meloni said, “we’re going to reintroduce my character, Elliott Stabler, and give the audience the backstory of where he’s been, how he’s been, and he’s going to rejoin the NYPD, but with the organized crime unit.”
Christopher Meloni’s Elliott Stabler was supposed to be reintroduced in the season 22 premiere ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit, which is set to premiere in November. However, that is no longer going to happen. Meloni spoke about the spin-off’s slow development over the summer, noting that it was extremely difficult to get the ball running because of the public health crisis. He also added, “So that is the long way of saying the writers are breaking rocks, trying to figure out the arc of the story, who the characters are and how they interact, and I have yet to see a script… ‘I’m working on my tan, okay?'”
Christopher Meloni’s long-timeSVUco-starMariska Hargitaywill also appear onLaw & Order: Organized Crime.Christopher Meloniwas not able to comment on how much Hargitay will be in the spin-off, stating that it’s up to the writers and her schedule. “I think whatever we can slice away, whatever the writers come up with. I think we will both be looking forward to playing with each other in each other’s sandbox.” The two actors are looking forward to the new show and the fans are definitely looking forward to it too.
For now, it is unclear when NBC will be able to getLaw & Order: Organized Crimeup and running again. Bringing back such an important character in theLaw & Orderfranchise is proving to be a lot more difficult than originally imagined. NBC will announce a new showrunner for the series in the near future, whileSVUis set to return to TV on November 12th.The Hollywood Reporterwas the first to announce thatLaw & Order: Organized Crimeshowrunner Matt Olmstead has stepped down.
