Law & Order: Organized Crime's release date has been pushed to 2021. After almost a decade since he left the police procedural franchise, Chris Meloni is set to reprise his role as Elliot Stabler in the latest spinoff from Dick Wolf's TV universe. This has a lot of fans excited but it might take a little while longer before they can learn what's next for the former SVU detective.
Debuting as one of the two real leads of Law & Order: SVU, Meloni had been in the famed police franchise since 1999. The actor played Stabler for 12 seasons opposite Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson before deciding to leave due to pay dispute after they failed to negotiate a brand new contract. Because of this, SVU had to scramble how to explain his sudden absence and why he's never coming back. Since then, fans have been clamoring for him to return — after all, he has remained closed Hargitay. They finally got what they wanted when it was revealed that not only is he returning for a guest stint, Stabler is also set to spearhead his own TV series.
While the report didn't provide details about why this was the case, there are a couple of possible reasons for the delay. It's worth noting that Law & Order: Organized Crime isn't the only the only show that's delayed. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is also being held off for a midseason release. Given this, there's a chance that the ongoing movement against police brutality has forced NBC to reassess the narratives of the aforementioned cop shows to reflect what's happening in real life. Fans already know that stories for Brooklyn Nine-Nine are being re-written for the very same reason, so it's likely that this is also the case with Law & Order: Organized Crime. If anything, the upcoming police procedural offshoot needs to be more sensitive about this pressing issue considering that its lead cop has a history of aggression back in his old stint with the SVU. Couple this with the coronavirus pandemic that has forced Hollywood to a standstill and the delay makes sense. The global health crisis has already thrown a wrench in their plans to bring back Stabler as his family was supposed to return in Law & Order: SVU season 21's finale, but that was scrapped when production was supposed to shut down.
Fans may have to wait a little while longer than initially anticipated for Law & Order: Organized Crime, but that doesn't mean that a Stabler appearance will also take that long. As previously confirmed, the detective will make his first appearance in Law & Order: SVU as he returns to his old place of work and reunite with some of his old colleagues and meet brand new ones. It's unknown how NBC is going to set-up his spinoff from there, but seeing Meloni back in the role even for a bit would be enough for fans who have been waiting for this for years.
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