Law & Order: SVU’s Stephanie March Weighs in on Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni’s ‘Fantastic’ Chemistry (Exclusive)
Stephanie March tells PEOPLE that her former ‘Law & Order: SVU’ costars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have a “really unbelievable” chemistry
Even Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni’s former costar can’t get enough of their onscreen chemistry!
On April 22, Stephanie March reflected on her time on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit during an interview with PEOPLE at the City Harvest Presents The 2025 Gala: Carnaval in New York City.
March, who played assistant district attorney Alexandra Cabot, says working alongside Hargitay and Meloni’s beloved characters — detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler — was exactly what you would expect.
“They’re never not good,” she says. “It’s really amazing. The two of them together are fantastic. It’s really unbelievable.”
March left SVU as a series regular after season 5, although she continued to make recurring appearances through season 19. Meloni also exited the show after 12 seasons, but rejoined the franchise in 2021 for its spinoff series, Law & Order: Organized Crime.
He and Hargitay (who continues to star in SVU since its premiere in 1999, making her the longest-running character in the history of primetime American television) have had several onscreen reunions and crossovers since, and March says she’s open to returning to the series as well.
“I guess if people still write, you could do a write-in campaign,” she teases. “That would be my only suggestion. The good news is, I get to see Chris and Mariska and BD [Wong] and all of those other wonderful people with regularity, so that’s good.”
“I think it would depend on the story, but they’ve got some good writers,” she adds. “Never say never, right?”
As for what she wants to see next from her former castmates, March can only think of one thing.
“I just hope they keep their jobs like the rest of us,” she says. “That’s the most you can hope for any actor right now. Just keep it our jobs.”
Hargitay and Meloni’s dynamic has long been a topic of conversation. In 2024, the actress even addressed a season 24 scene in which Olivia pulled away as Elliot tried to kiss her, leaving fans to wonder why the beloved duo didn’t take things to the next level.
“To be honest with you, Chris and I thought it should go one way and the powers that be didn’t, so it got changed at the last minute, that near-kiss,” she told Variety of the moment, which creator Dick Wolf “didn’t want.”
“Our chemistry is undeniable. It’s just the way it is,” Hargitay acknowledged.
