*”Law & Order: Organized Crime” star Christopher Meloni broke the internet with his return as Elliot Stabler earlier this year for the ‘SVU’ spinoff series, but the veteran TV star tells EURweb that he had no intention of ever reprising the beloved character.
After spending 12 years playing Stabler alongside Mariska Hargitay as Oliva Benson, Meloni left “Law&Order: SVU” in 2011 and went on to star in a slew of projects, including HBO’s “True Blood,” the slave series “Underground,” which aired on WGN and SyFy’s “Happy.”
Meloni’s big comeback as Stabler was only made possible after series creator Dick Wolf piqued the actor’s interest with how he would approach “Organized Crime” (OC).
“I mean this exactly how I’m saying it: I never once thought about it or looked backward,” Meloni said of revisiting Elliot Stabler during NBC’s panel at the TCA summer press tour.
“I think I had done a great run, 12 years. Enjoyed most of it, was ready to move on. Was more than pleased with all of the adventures, all of the different projects I got to do, all of the travel I got to do, all the different characters I got to inhabit. I couldn’t have asked for a better,” he told EURweb’s Ny MaGee.
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Heard you were asking for a promo. New seasons of #SVU and #OrganizedCrime premiere Thursday, September 23 on @NBC. pic.twitter.com/zFAByIGng7
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“I think to Dick’s credit, he — I don’t know — maybe he sensed I wasn’t as interested in revisiting how, you know, the “SVU” tells a story, which is great, and they do it so wonderfully. So, when he pitched this more serialized expression of his latest idea of a “Law & Order” show, the “OC,” I really thought it was kind of a stroke of genius,” Meloni explained.
“I didn’t think that was even kind of anything he was thinking about. So, I was pleasantly pleased and surprised and excited when I got the pitch. And it was just on the basis of the type of storytelling that the “OC” allows us. And I just think it just allows for a little more in-depth analysis of characters and relationships and that kind of stuff. So, I appreciated that. And I think with Ilene Chaiken running the show, it’s really lived up to what Dick had hoped for,” he added.
After a 10-year hiatus from the “Law & Order” world, Meloni’s return in April became NBC’s biggest digital launch ever.
Don’t miss the new season of “Organized Crime” when it premieres Thursday, September 23rd, at 10 p.m., right after the season premiere of SVU on NBC.
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