When Christopher Meloni left “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” during its 12th season in 2011, fans were devastated to lose such an important character … and years later, in March of 2020, Meloni announced that he’d appear in a then-untitled spin-off and reprise his role. In 2022, he officially rejoined the “Law & Order” franchise with a crossover episode on “Law & Order: SVU” alongside his former partner Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay).
The two have reunited several times now on crossover episodes between “Law & Order: Organized Crime” and “Law & Order: SVU,” and there’s no reason to expect that won’t continue even if THR’s report comes to pass and the former series moves permanently to Peacock. It is worth revisiting the offer Meloni received for his spin-off, though; the original deal was for five years and a whopping nine-figure payout for Meloni to entice him to return.
Still, that’s not to say that “Law & Order: Organized Crime” hasn’t been a success in its own right; it’s popular with fans of the franchise, and Meloni’s performance is as excellent as ever. Thankfully, NBC doesn’t seem to be pulling the plug entirely, and will just move the series to Peacock.
“Law & Order: Organized Crime” airs a new episode on May 2, 2024.