Mariska Hargitay has been part of Law & Order: SVU for decades. For twelve years, she and Christopher Meloni co-starred alongside each other as Captain Benson and Detective Stabler, building an incredible chemistry both on and off the screen. It appeared the two would be mainstays for the show until Meloni abruptly chose to leave the show after Season 12.
Law & Order: SVU is a show whose format lends itself naturally to constant casting changes. Plenty of special guests come and go, given that each episode features a different crime and case. Even many regulars tend to slide in and out of the rotation, for various different reasons. Therefore, Hargitay has certainly seen her fair share of departures and stayed steady throughout the changes.
It seems as though Meloni's departure was harder on her than most, though. Perhaps it was the nature of the closeness of their characters, but it is clear that the change affected her. With Meloni returning to Law & Order as part of the spin-off Organized Crime, he has begun making guest appearances on SVU as well, and their chemistry is once again immediately evident.
Mariska Hargitay tried to stop Christopher Meloni from leaving SVU
Season 12 of Law & Order: SVU was Christopher Meloni's last as Hargitay's partner on the show. A contract dispute ultimately led to the series' mainstay leaving at the time. The news came as a shock and was entirely unexpected for Hargitay and the entire cast. For them, it felt incredibly sudden. She explained her feelings recently on the June 25 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast.
“I was devastated. I was devastated. It happened very quickly, and it was surprising. It was over a negotiation, and I tried everything I could to fix it and change it. He was ready to go, he went on and did all these other great shows, great work.”
It was about more than the show that connected the two, though. Their friendship was equally as deep and important, if not more so, according to Hargitay.
She explained that “We are just connected. We are so close. It’s like we’ve been through the battle together. We know each other so well. We love each other so much. We respect each other so much. We connected, obviously, by living these stories and going so deep together for so many years, acting, and he and I really bond over comedy. We have a very similar sense of humor."
Obviously, with that level of experience together, a friendship is bound to run deep. “It’s shared perspective, it’s shorthand, we are so comfortable with each other, we deeply trust each other, we know, like, whatever he needs, I will always be there for him, and that’s mutual. And we have grown together, we’ve known each other 27 years.”
While losing Meloni as a partner was heartbreaking for Hargitay at the time, she did acknowledge that it provided her with a chance to work with many other amazing actors and actresses in his stead, which arguably helped her grow as an actress and the show grow as a whole.
“I got to meet some of my favorite humans. All the actors that have come on SVU, it’s a — I will say this: It’s a magical place. It’s a magical place to work. Everyone is deeply, deeply invested. And my favorite thing of all of it is when guest stars come and say to me, ‘Is it always like this year?’ and I go, ‘Yep,'."
She concluded her thoughts by expressing the group's closeness. “It’s team, it’s fun, we laugh, and we get it done. We are so focused. … We know when to play, we know when to work, we have been together so long, there’s a real intimacy. I’m very close with my crew. We text. We love each other, and we are a team. And if somebody’s not invested, they’re out. We bring our A-game, best idea wins, and it is a joy, and I look forward to going to work every day, and you can’t believe how much we laugh.”
For Meloni's part, he shared why he ultimately decided to return to the Law & Order franchise back in an interview in 2020. “There are certain things that have transpired in my life that made me more comfortable in going back into this world.”
He also shared how easy it was to get back into a rhythm with Hargitay in a later interview. “It’s just really a shorthanded love affair, professional admiration, mutual admiration. We just speak the same language and we just cut to the chase of what it is we’re trying to accomplish in the scene, in the arc, whatever it may be.”
Hopefully, we will continue to see these two connect in more crossovers. Although Meloni's Organized Crime spinoff will not be airing on NBC, it is still going to be shown on Peacock as a streaming exclusive, which leaves the door open for plenty more crossovers. And, given the writer's plot points over the years, Benson and Stabler still have many things to figure out.