Law & Order: SVU favourite teases reunion for show legends Benson and Stabler as 600th episode nears

Law & Order: SVU favourite Mariska Hargitay has teased a reunion for the show's legendary characters Benson and Stabler.

Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson, has hinted that fans can expect to see the return of her former partner, Detective Elliot Stabler, played by Christopher Meloni, to the show as it near its 600th episode.

Christopher Meloni left SVU 15 years ago in 2011 after the show's 12th season but continued to play the character of Detective Elliot Stabler as a guest role in the franchise's main series Law & Order up until 2022.

In 2021, his character got his own spin show entitled Law & Order: Organized Crime, which was cancelled last year after a five season run.

But now fans can expect the highly anticipated SVU reunion as Hargitay revealed the news in an Instagram post, sharing two photos of herself and Meloni with the caption: "Happy 600...".

Both photos showed the two actors dressed in character and on set of Law & Order: SVU, the first of which shows Hargitay pointing to Meloni, who has his back to her, whilst in the second they are both smiling at the camera.

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While the post did not confirm which episode of the upcoming 28th season fans can expect to see Detective Elliot Stabler in or how long his story will be, what is clear is that he is coming back, even if it is briefly.

The characters have previously reunited briefly when Meloni returned to SVU for a singular episode in season 27 last year.

Season 28 will also see the show's 600th episode, a landmark milestone which will fall pretty much half way through the new season.

A UK release date has not yet been given but it will start to air in the US on 8 October so hopefully UK fans won't have to wait too much longer after that.

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Authors

Phoebe Kowhai Barnes is a Freelance Writer who covers pop culture and entertainment programmes for the Radio Times. She previously worked as the Senior Assistant Editor at The Tab where she managed its local department. She obtained a BA (Hons) in English Literature from University of Nottingham.