The Benson and Stabler long tease that “Law & Order: SVU” has been playing is reaching unbearable proportions for fans.
Since last spring, intimations, suggestions, winks, and full-on hand holdings have occurred between the show’s unrequited beating heart – Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni).
And that’s after the first 12 years the two brewed up their chemistry before Meloni left the show in 2011, then returned in 2021, coming over from his new “Organized Crime” gig.
The actors themselves have further played footsie with their possible romance off-camera too. Witness Hargitay’s recent tease.
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Earlier this year, devoted fans, mirroring the gumshoe habits of Benson/Stabler, noticed something interesting on Twitter. As Good Housekeeping pointed out, “Law & Order: SVU” and “Law & Order: Organized Crime” were in the middle of airing new episodes in their usual Thursday night back-to-back block.
Just as “SVU” was about to wrap up, “Organized Crime” actor, Dylan McDermott, posted a seemingly silly tweet: “Just wanted you to know @Chris_Meloni is obsessed with me!”
To which Hargitay soon commented, “Nope. I think he’s obsessed with me…”
That, for fans, was definitely not silly, it was a lit fuse, and a fandom emoji bomb went off in the comments. Some were able to compose themselves enough to form sentences.
One person feverishly typed, “Screaming!! MARISKA girl.” Another begged, “IS THIS REAL WHAT.” While another joked, “Go ahead and [break] the internet again, I guess.”
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Thankfully, Meloni did not chime in, as that would have surely made the internet crumble. But he has recently intimated his character’s feelings when he told the "Today" show, "I think [Elliot’s] in the middle of realizing [his feelings]," Chris said to the Today show. "Yeah, I think it's more difficult for him. I think he's carrying a lot of -- stuff."
Both actors have found talk shows to be a reliable place to drop their appetite-whetting bread crumbs for fans to chase after. Like when Hargitay recently told Drew Barrymore on her gabfest that, “[Stabler] is free, and I think he's got eyes for me. But Olivia Benson is hurt! I mean, he left me in a lurch for 10 years. She's frightened. The energy's there. Olivia's been in love with him for many a year.”
To get more definitive answers, viewers will have to continue watching "Law & Order: SVU" and "Law & Order: Organized Crime" on Thursdays on NBC.
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