Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler will appear in the Law & Order: SVU season 22 premiere before headlining his own spin-off. In March, news broke that the actor will reprise his fan-favorite role as the Manhattan detective via a new offshoot. While viewers were thrilled about the upcoming project, everyone wondered if it also meant that an appearance on SVU was on the cards. Now, that's finally confirmed.
After starring for 12 seasons in SVU opposite Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson, Meloni abruptly left the show due to a pay dispute. His departure was so sudden there wasn't even a proper send-off for one of the founding characters of the series. The writers didn't wait long to write him off of the show, by season 13's first episode, it was revealed that Stabler resigned off-screen after he'd been subjected to an IAB investigation following a shooting incident in the season 12 finale. Since then, fans have been longing to see him back in the precinct to reunite with his old partner.
SVU's returning showrunner Warren Leight revealed in the latest episode of The Law & Order: SVU Podcast that Stabler is due for an appearance in the first episode of season 22. “It’s pretty clear that Elliot will be in the SVU season opener. I think that much I know,” he said. The initial plan was to first re-introduce his family during SVU's season 21 finale. Since that's scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving the season four episodes short of the planned 24, they're now going straight to Stabler when the procedural returns on the small screen.
Over the years, rumbles about Meloni coming back to return as Stabler continued. The rumors were further fanned by his occasional run-ins with Hargitay that are well-documented online. At this point, it's unclear what the premise of Stabler's upcoming SVU spin-off will be, but considering how long it's been since he resigned, there's a possibility his return won't have anything to do with the specifics of his resignation. It's safe to assume, however, that whatever brings him back to his former workplace will be a springboard to his upcoming show. What's going to be interesting, though, is how his reunion with Benson will play out. The pair were virtually inseparable during their time working together - s0 much so that the series toyed with a romantic relationship but never really pushed forward with it. Now, things are significantly different from the time he left, Benson is already captain and most of the people working for her don't know him - except for Finn (Ice-T).
Unfortunately, with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it's uncertain when Law & Order: SVU season 22 will debut. Typically, production begins sometime in the summer for a September roll out, but that's all up in the air due to the global health crisis that put Hollywood in an essential stand still. In any case, at least fans have something to look forward to for when Law & Order: SVU returns to air - whenever that may be.
Source: The Law & Order: SVU Podcast