The sudden departure of Christopher Meloni’s Detective Stabler from Law & Order: SVU at the end of season 12 had left some fans wanting a better end to his character’s career. That might have happened at the end of season 17, if NBC hadn’t picked up the show for season 18.
Meloni left SVU after he filmed the season 12 finale, so the writers didn’t have the chance to write a farewell episode. Showrunner Warren Leight told The Hollywood Reporter that if the show wasn’t coming back, they were thinking of trying to bring Meloni and other series regulars back.
“If we weren’t coming back, there were a couple things I was absolutely going to do,” Leight said. “We had been talking [about], had this been the last episode, we would have tried him to bring him back.”
Although Meloni will not be in the season 17 finale, Leight made it sound like the actor has warmed up to the idea that fans might want to see Stabler again, even if we have to wait a little longer.
“In hindsight, NBC, [producer Dick Wolf], Universal and Chris all know they could have handled that better,” Leight said of Meloni’s exit. “But I think Chris, over time from what I hear, began to realize that the fans were owed a little more.”
NBC renewed SVU for season 18 earlier this week, so Leight and his team won’t have to worry about writing a series finale just yet. But when the time comes, don’t be surprised if Stabler does pop in.