'Law & Order' Star Chris Meloni Talks about His Return 9 Years after His Sudden Exit from SVU

Christopher Meloni has opened up about his upcoming return to the “Law & Order” franchise nine years after he suddenly walked away from the show.

Following a successful career in guest roles on shows like “Happy!,” “Pose,” “Underground,” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Christopher Meloni is ready to make his comeback to the “Law & Order” franchise.

With his return, the actor would be rehashing his “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” character as Detective Elliot Stabler, in a spinoff, known as “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”

The show’s 22nd season would shed light on several issues. Some of those issues include the “Black Lives Matter” movement and the way New York City has dealt with the novel coronavirus pandemic.

His addition to the spinoff would be the first time that Christopher would play Elliot following his unexpected departure from SVU during its 12th season in 2011. Speaking on his return to the well-loved crime show, Christopher told ET Online:

“A certain piece just fell into place. For me, there were just personal things that I was like, ‘You know, now is a good time.’ That was it...”

The 59-year-old added that it was an unusual occurrence for him to be so sure about a project. Ahead of his reunion with his co-star, Mariska Hargitay (who plays Olivia Benson), Christopher teased fans with an update. The tease came during a conversation with Entertainment Weekly that saw him state:

“We're going to reintroduce my character Elliott Stabler and give the audience the backstory of where he's been, how he's been, and he's going to rejoin the NYPD.”

Just before that interview, E! Online reported that SVU’s showrunner, Warren Leight, disclosed that the show’s 22nd season would shed light on several issues.

Some of those issues include the “Black Lives Matter” movement and the way New York City has dealt with the onslaught of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Amid all the information sharing, fans have remained unsure about the level of communication that will exist between “Organized Crime” and the SVU. While fans excitedly wait for the show’s return, Christopher and Mariska have been busy catching up behind-the-scenes.

Earlier this month, Deadline pointed out that Mariska dropped a close-up selfie that featured her and her former co-star. Captioned, “It’s on,” the picture showed Christopher’s arm around the actress’s shoulder as they both smiled widely at the camera.