Chris Meloni's exit as Elliot Stabler from the Manhattan Special Victims Unit in Law & Order: SVU was a major moment in the show - but why did he leave? As a spinoff to Dick Wolf's interconnected Law & Order franchise, Law & Order: SVU debuted in 1999 and is currently the longest-running U.S. live-action series on television. While the show's main protagonist is Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson, she once shared the headlining spot with Meloni's Stabler.
Stabler first entered the NYPD in 1986 and became an SVU detective in 1983. He was partnered with Benson in 1998 and the two developed a strong bond working together for more than a decade. Hargitay and Meloni had electric chemistry that the show toyed on the possibility of their characters potentially starting an affair, but the series never pushed forward with it. Benson and Stabler's outings cracking down sexual offenders in Manhattan were tackled week after week for the first 12 seasons of Law & Order: SVU, until Meloni's abrupt exit from the series in 2011.
Law & Order: SVU didn't waste any time resolving Stabler's absence moving forward, nor did it propagate the notion that he might come back. Law & Order: SVU's season 12 finale was used as a springboard to write him out of the show. In the episode "Smoked," Stabler was forced to shoot the daughter of a murder victim who was wreaking havoc at the precinct. While Stabler only wanted to stop her from shooting agani after already killing three people, he unfortunately fatally shot her, and she died in his arms. This resulted in him being put under administrative leave, revealed in the season 13 premiere, "Scorched Earth." Benson, who was at the scene when the shooting took place, desperately made a case for her partner, explaining to the then-precinct captain Donald Cragen (Danny Florek) that Stabler's action was justified given the circumstances. Still, Cragen revealed that Stabler needed to be subjected for psychiatric evaluation before he could return to work.
Confident that he didn't do anything wrong, Stabler vehemently refused to abide by the Internal Affairs Board's demands. Before Benson was able to talk some sense to her partner, Cragen revealed that he already filed for his retirement, leaving the task force for good. In hindsight, doing something drastic like this was in character for Stabler who could be impulsive and emotional at times - but despite that, one cannot deny how ill-fitting Law & Order: SVU handled his exit, especially for a character who was front-and-center of the show for 12 seasons.
Off-screen, Meloni's decision to leave Law & Order: SVU stemmed from pay dispute. His contract expired between Law & Order: SVU seasons 12 and 13, and he was in the process of renegotiating the terms of his deal with the show. While the specifics of the discussion were never publicized, Meloni did belatedly say that he doesn't regret leaving the series when he did, explaining that he knew it was the right time to move on when the salary negotiations broke down between him and NBC. Since his last outing as Stabler, he's appeared in a handful of other shows, including headlining the adult comedy Happy!, as well as roles in The Handmaid's Tale, Harley Quinn, and an upcoming appearance in The Twilight Zone.
Now, after nine seasons of absence, Meloni is slated to return to Law & Order: SVU, as he's confirmed to reprise his role as Stabler in season 22's premiere episode. Specifics of how he's going to be re-incorporated into the show are still scant at the moment but fans are understandably excited for his reunion with Stabler who is now the Captain of the precinct. It's safe to say that his upcoming appearance will function as a backdoor pilot to his still-untitled spinoff.