Posted in: NBC, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: Benson, bleeding cool, cable, Christopher Meloni, crime, dick wolf, drama, dylan mcdermott, elliot stabler, happy, Law & Order, mariska hargitay, nbc, new jersey, New York City, NJ, nyc, organized crime, preview, streaming, svu, teaser, television, tv

Law & Order: OC Star Christopher Meloni Shares His NYC/NJ Commute

Things have been on a major upswing in and around the "Law & Order" universe since the new year kicked in. Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay (Benson) have been trading guest appearances- Meloni returning to Law & Order: SVU and Hargitay appearing on Meloni's upcoming Dick Wolf-produced series Law & Order: Organized Crime. From there, a post from Meloni reassured fans that they were hard at work on the series before we learned that Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story, Hollywood) had joined the cast. Now, something completely different but still fitting in line with the theme of "getting work done" (and a flashback reminder of when we used to commute from New York City to New Jersey for work).

Here's a look at Meloni's post taking viewers along as he shows off the sights and sounds of the NYC/NJ commute:

Law & Order: Organized Crime features Meloni returning to his Law & Order: SVU role as Elliot Stabler, rejoining the NYPD to battle organized crime after a devastating personal loss. However, the city and police department have changed dramatically in the decade he's been away, and he must adapt to a criminal justice system in the midst of its own moment of reckoning. Throughout the series, viewers will follow Stabler's journey to find absolution and rebuild his life, while leading a new elite task force that is taking apart the city's most powerful criminal syndicates one by one. Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story, Hollywood) has joined the cast of the spinoff series, which Wolf executive produces with Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski for Wolf Entertainment and Universal TV.

During an interview on the Variety After-Show in July 2020, Meloni had the opportunity to discuss the spinoff series- including how it came about. Revealing that "they just came out of the blue with a new show" when he was only expecting a multi-episode arc to wrap Stabler's storyline on SVU, Meloni was more than willing to stay a little longer in Stabler's world: "I think I maybe wanted to be less of a journeyman or a nomad because I've been doing that. It's been great…but after a while, you're like, 'Let's look for a home base again for a while."

While Meloni believes Stabler has a strong sense of his faults as well as justice, he also knows that society's views on law enforcement have changed since Stabler was back in the precinct full time: "I think he was a guy on the right side of justice. Nowadays that's commendable, but you can't use that as an excuse to go outside the boundaries just because you think my cause is the just cause because these lines have been — not blurring — they have been broken and people are fed up."

This is why Meloni believes it will be a different Stabler that viewers are introduced to when they see him- especially when they see him reunited with Benson. Meloni had this to say when he appeared on The Talk: "There are a lot of unanswered questions about how he left, why the silence vis-à-vis Olivia Benson. I think, in real terms, society, and what we are dealing with in society, has changed dramatically. It's just changed. So, I think you have to address that. And, I think the person Elliot was… I think we all evolved. I think all those things are going to be put into play when you see his return."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!