Law & Order: SVU Is Officially Bringing Back Benson's Best Love Interest (Even Better Than Stabler)

Published Nov 4, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

Mary Kassel is a Senior Writer & Critic who joined the Screen Rant team in 2023. 

After graduating from Emerson College with a degree in Media Arts Production, Kassel started at Screen Rant with a focus on the critical analysis side of movies and television while continuing to work on set in film production. 

At Screen Rant, Kassel primarily writes for the Classic TV section, mining their encyclopedic knowledge of television history for content. However, they also contribute to the Books team and review both film and television as a critic. 

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is arguably the best series within the Dick Wolf extended universe, and also the longest-running, recently entering its landmark 28th season on NBC. While episodic series like SVU often find success on network TV, the enduring popularity of SVU is thanks to main characters like Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), who anchor the crime-of-the-week formula with their emotional arcs.

The potential Benson and Stabler romance in Law & Order: SVU is one of the most popular fan theories within the franchise. The intense relationship between the detectives was a large part of what made the early seasons of SVU so incredible to watch. Though they had different approaches to solving the cases, Benson and Stabler were fiercely protective of each other, making it easy to hope that the characters would become more than colleagues and friends.

Stabler's SVU return for the 600th episode of the series is generating a lot of buzz, but he's far from the only exciting addition to the cast that audiences can look forward to. Stephanie March will return as Alex Cabot in SVU season 28, reminding audiences that Benson had plenty of chemistry with the Assistant District Attorney with whom the SVU team worked so closely. SVU season 28 premiered on NBC on October 8th, 2026, making waves by bringing back so many beloved characters. The series can't waste the opportunity presented by Cabot's guest appearance.

Alex Cabot Is Officially Coming Back In Law & Order: SVU Season 28

NBC

First introduced in season 2, episode 1, "Wrong is Right," Cabot serves as the main Assistant District Attorney who works with the Special Victims Unit through her dramatic departure in season 5, episode 4, "Loss," when she enters Witness Protection. Though Cabot never came back to stay, she's popped back up in SVU many times over the years, renewing the tension that existed between her and Benson from her first episode.

However, audiences haven't seen Cabot since SVU season 19, when her relationship with Benson left off on a complicated note. Though Cabot was an exacting A.D.A., there were times when her personal feelings got in the way of her work, often when it came to cases that involved domestic violence. In season 19, episode 19, "Sunk Cost Fallacy," Cabot was working outside the law to keep survivors safe, which put her at odds with Benson and the legal system.

Now, nearly a decade later, Cabot will be back in season 28, episode 9. There are many questions about Cabot, what she's been up to, and how her relationship with Benson will have evolved that SVU needs to answer this season. SVU season 28 hasn't been shy about bringing familiar faces back into the fold. However, Cabot's return will be more meaningful if her relationship with Benson finally goes to the next level.

Benson & Cabot's Romance Possibility Explained

Courtesy of MovieStills DB

In a series like SVU​​​​​​, it's common for fans to theorize about the characters' potential romances, since the stories revolve more around the crime-of-the-week rather than long-running character arcs. However, this doesn't mean that audiences haven't seen characters, especially Benson, grow a lot over the decades. When Cabot was on the series, she and Benson had a close, complex relationship that hinted at a deeper emotional bond that could lead to romance today.

SVU has explored Benson's possible LGBTQ+ identity in the past, but never explicitly. While it's fair to say that as an actress, Hargitay has amazing chemistry with almost every scene partner, the tension between Benson and Cabot is hard to miss. The last time Benson and Cabot shared the screen, they acknowledged their differences and shared a meaningful moment. Though they have different approaches to helping survivors, as seen in season 19, there's no question that both women are devoted to their work and have the same goal: to keep them safe.

Cabot and Benson share an even deeper bond than Benson and Stabler because of this common goal and the passionate, protective nature that drives them both. The pair push each other to be better and have a more intimate understanding of what makes the other tick than Benson and Stabler. Fans have wanted this pairing to become canon for years now, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 18 can make it real.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 28 releases new episodes every Thursday at 9:00 PM ET and 6:00 PM PT on NBC.