'Law & Order: SVU' Spinoff with Christopher Meloni as a Main Actor Has Been Delayed
"Law & Order: SVU" spinoff, "Law & Order: Organized Crime," starring Christopher Meloni, has been pushed back from the NBC fall schedule after the unprecedented exit of a showrunner.
It was recently revealed that Chris Meloni's fans would have to wait much longer for the long-anticipated "Law & Order: SVU" spinoff, "Law & Order: Organized Crime," which was set to feature his return to the Dick Wolf-produced franchise.
Meloni, who played the role of Elliot Stabler in the franchise, was set to appear in the spinoff in the fall. The delay was brought on by the exit of a showrunner, Matt Olmstead, amid challenges that have been plaguing the franchise's creative.
Actor Christopher Meloni at 'The IMDb Show' on March 26, 2019 in Studio City, California. This episode of 'The IMDb Show' airs on April 25, 2019 | Photo: Getty Images
The exiting showrunner, Matt Olmstead, quietly signed a great three-year overall deal with his former network, Universal TV, in exchange for his exit from NBC and return to Universal TV.
"Law & Order: Organized Crime" was meant to come straight as a 13-episode series with Wolf serving as the executive producer alongside Peter Jankowski, Terry Miller, Arthur W. Forney, and Fred Berner.
Although "Law & Order: Organized Crime" was not yet given a set date following the delay, it seemed like it was still slated for the 2020-2021 broadcast season regardless. Meloni departed from the "Law & Order: SVU" franchise after the twelfth season and the actor's return was announced earlier in the year.
June saw Wolf fire a writer from "Law & Order: Organized Crime."
The actor told Variety that he was quite intrigued by the idea of returning home to NBC to give Stabler's story the dedication that it deserved. During his time away from the NBC franchise, Meloni did do amazing work with his career, with many accomplishments to sit pretty under his belt.
His first post "SVU" job was the role of Vampire Authority Guardian Roman Zimojic in HBO's "True Blood," followed by many others including roles in the FX drama, "Pose," alongside Dominique Jackson. He also starred in the Hulu dystopia, "The Handmaid's Tale," as an imposing authoritative character, Commander George Winslow.
It seemed things came full circle with his return to his most famous and most-loved character, Stabler. Although fans would have to wait for that day, it only piqued their interest even more despite the behind-the-camera drama.
Beside Olmstead's unprecedented departure, June saw Wolf fire a writer from "Law & Order: Organized Crime" due to controversial posts on his Facebook, in which he threatened to directly harm looters amid the protests that were taking place in Los Angeles.
Fans may not know when things will settle down enough for the spinoff to get finalized, but they continue to wait with bated breath for the return of their beloved Elliot Stabler.