The SVU legend just teased that “anything’s possible.”
ensler’s story is far from over, folks. With each new episode, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit continues to keep us on our toes and Mariska Hargitay just revealed that Olivia Benson’s ride-or-die Elliot Stabler could, at some point, be back on our screens.
Mariska Hargitay says Benson and Stabler are “not done” on Law & Order: SVU
During an appearance on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast on April 28, Harigitay served up an exciting update when she was asked whether Christopher Meloni would return to SVU. “At some point? I mean, anything’s possible!” she shared in front of a live audience at the Napa Valley StreamFest, adding that Meloni is currently busy with other projects.
“Yes, the answer to that is he and I are not… it’s not done,” Hargitay answered, before cheekily adding, “It’s not dun-dun — see what I did there?”
While Stabler left SVU over a decade ago at the end of Season 12, the beloved detective has made many appearances on the NBC drama in the years since — reuniting with Benson and starring on Law & Order: Organized Crime. In the very first episode of SVU Season 27, for instance, Stabler told Benson “love you” as they said goodbye at the funeral of Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek).
And this isn’t the first time Hargitay teased that a Bensler reunion could be in our future. Chatting with Deadline in April 2026, on the heels of SVU’s Season 28 renewal news, Hargitay said she’s hopeful that the two NYPD legends will come together again. After all, Hargitay did recently confirm “Stabler’s in love with Benson.”
“I hope so,” she told Deadline when asked if Meloni could return to SVU. “That is a very heartening thing for both of us, that our relationship was so iconic culturally and that Benson and Stabler still resonates is deeply meaningful to me, and Chris and I, I’m sure you know, are very, very close. He’s a very in-demand actor, so we’ll see if the schedule is lined up.”
Beyond Benson’s unfinished story with Stabler, Hargitay gushed about her own “parallel growth” with the character she’s played for nearly three decades, explaining that they’ve experienced major life milestones together.
“It’s been beautiful because there’s been kind of a parallel growth with my character, Olivia Benson, and Mariska,” she told The Hollywood Reporter at the April 2026 event. “We had each other to go through this together — becoming a leader, finding the equilibrium in that, becoming a mother on the show and having to manage my people, my squad, when we used to be even, and then all of a sudden you’re the boss.”
