Christopher Meloni Makes Surprise Return to Law and Order: SVU Set Filming with Mariska Hargitay and Dann Florek

BenStabler fans, rejoice!

On Sunday, Aug. 3, Mariska Hargitay was joined on the set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 27 by none other than Christopher Meloni. The fan-favorite pair’s reunion delighted fans, who love seeing Hargitay’s Olivia Benson and Meloni’s Elliot Stabler together again, 14 years after Meloni left SVU following season 12.

In photos from the set, the actors were seen embracing both on-camera and off, as well as joking around with each other.

In a few shots, they sat close on director’s chairs and caught up off-camera, and they appeared particularly close while filming one scene, where Meloni, 64, had his arms wrapped around Hargitay, 61, as they looked into each other’s eyes.

Meloni teased his upcoming return to SVU in an Instagram post.

On Saturday, Aug. 2, the actor shared three selfies from the set of the long-running series — a solo with Hargitay; a group shot with Law & Order: Organized Crime star and fellow SVU alum Dann Florek; and a solo with Florek.

Florek, who has played Capt. Donald Cragen since the 1999 premiere of SVU, left the show in 2015 and last appeared three years ago in season 23, so his presence on set also excited fans who are eager to see him reunite with Olivia.

“Hangin with friends on a Friday nite,” Meloni wrote in the post’s caption, tagging both Hargiaty and Florek, 75.

The reunion delighted fans, who filled the comments with love and, as always, begged Meloni to return as a regular on SVU.

Hargitay and Meloni’s onscreen reunion comes after the actress finally weighed in on when she’d want to see her character finally get romantic with Stabler.

On Call Her Daddy in June, host Alex Cooper asked Hargitay if she and Meloni’s characters will “ever end up together,” and she gave a real answer.

“Maybe on the last episode,” she said. “I think that’s when they should be together.”

Still, that necessitates that the story is “right” for the two of them to finally give it a go. “We’ll see when we get there,” she said.

Of her relationship with her costar, Hargitay said she and Meloni are “soulmates.”

“And I think that. I mean, Chris has had a profound impact on my life, my artistry. I think we’ve had a big impact on each other.”

She also reflected on how difficult it was when Meloni left SVU in 2012, as she admitted she was “devastated” by his exit.

During the same podcast episode, Hargitay said she and Meloni “know each other so well” and “love each other so much,” which made his departure from SVU particularly difficult, even though he was “ready to go.”

“Obviously, the entire world was just devastated. I was devastated,” she said.

The shock factor didn’t help. “It happened very quickly, and it was surprising. It was over a negotiation,” she said. “And I tried everything I could to fix it and change it. He left. I was devastated.”

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Law & Order: SVU season 27 premieres Thursday, Sept. 25 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.