Elliot Stabler’s actor doesn’t feel that Bensler should happen.
Fandoms are incredibly stubborn and patient, and shippers even more so. Fans will wait literally years for romantic developments, hoping to finally see the spark between their favorite characters. Alas, their high hopes are often crushed.
The police procedural genre is no exception when it comes to shipping. Such is the case with some of the most popular characters of the Law & Order franchise created by Dick Wolf. We’re talking about Special Victims Unit protagonists Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), who left SVU more than a decade ago and got his own spin-off, Organized Crime, in 2021.
The chemistry between the two is undeniable, and fans have spent nearly 25 years pushing the writers to give them some closure on the nature of their relationship, which almost happened in OC’s third season finale. Only, based on Meloni’s own words, we may never get it.
Christopher Meloni on Whether Bensler Will Happen
The prospect of Benson and Stabler’s romantic development has been a mainstay of Special Victims Unit since the early seasons, thanks to the great dynamic Hargitay and Meloni have built between their characters. Even other cast members have swooned over Benson and Stabler’s chemistry.
When Meloni returned to the franchise after 10 years and Stabler joined the organized crime task force, viewers finally saw a glimmer of hope. Though the new storyline was horribly disastrous for Meloni’s character, as the mob tried to kill Benson but ultimately killed Stabler’s wife, fans were happy to see the much-needed reunion between the characters, which also opened up the possibility of their romantic entanglement.
Things heated up in the Organized Crime Season 3 finale when Benson and Stabler finally confessed their feelings for each other. However, the creators decided to postpone the long-awaited kiss.
Speaking to Parade, Christopher Meloni discussed why the writers decided to tackle Bensler and shared his opinion on whether it will happen on screen at all.
‘I’ll give the credit to our original SVU showrunner, who set that stage and recognized [the chemistry] as something the audience saw,’ the actor explained. ‘But I think what they were really seeing was Mariska and my genuine affection for each other, and they ran with it. The fans had a big role in insisting the writers play up that angle just a little bit. And once we got a whiff, we leaned into it because we thought, “Let’s give the people what they want.”‘
Meloni’s answer as to whether he thinks the hookup should happen, however, may disappoint fans a bit.
‘Well, look, I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘But, to be honest, if they would write it that way, I’d go with it.’
While it’s really up to the writers and how much they see fit to satisfy fan demand, the opinion of the characters’ portrayers is the final say, so Bensler may not happen at all, unfortunately. But who knows, let’s stay positive!
A Little About Upcoming SVU and OC Seasons
Although new seasons of SVU and OC were supposed to be released last year, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes delayed them indefinitely. But in just a few days, they, as well as a new season of the original Law & Order, will finally be hitting our screens!
Law & Order Season 23 will premiere on January 18th at 8pm ET on NBC. This will be followed by the first episode of Season 25 of SVU at 9pm ET. The first episode of Season 4 of Organized Crime will air at 10pm ET.
