Mariska Hargitay has revealed that a much-anticipated Benson-Stabler moment almost happened on Law & Order: SVU but was called off by someone big in charge.
Mariska Hargitay has entered the record books as the actress who has played Olivia Benson for 27 seasons, making her the longest-running character in an American primetime drama. With Law & Order: Special Victims Unit officially renewed for a 28th season, that record looks intact.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast (in front of an audience) to promote her documentary My Mom Jayne, about her mother, Jayne Mansfield, Hargitay discussed her time on SVU. That includes revealing that she’ll be directing the show’s upcoming landmark 600th episode.
“They just asked me to direct the 600th! Which is episode six next year. It’s crazy. Even I can’t download it. Even I go, ‘Wait, what?!’ No, it’s nuts.”
While that was a fun revelation, Hargitay had a bigger one involving SVU’s most popular fan pairing and how it almost happened!
Dick Wolf vetoed a Stabler-Benson kiss
For years, fans have hoped that Benson and former partner Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) would get together. It’s increased with Stabler's return to Law & Order: Organized Crime and a few crossovers with SVU. One in SVU’s 24th season had the pair nearly kissing but settling for a hug.
Hargitay revealed that originally, they had filmed the pair actually kissing, which got the live audience cheering, only for Dick Wolf to cut it short.
“I think we felt that this moment was earned, that this thing could happen for a second — and so that’s how we shot it…We shot it a couple different ways. And then they [Wolf and others] had the choice in editing, and they [opted to use the near-kiss version rather than the kiss] … We [she and Meloni] disagreed. We disagreed because we thought that it was earned and the way it was dealt with was really complex and very beautiful and very human and showed the complexity of their relationship and all the different ways that they’re connected … [But] no matter what I want, Dick Wolf can totally just say, ‘Uh, no.’”
It can be debated whether this was good or bad, as there are fans who think it’s still better that Benson and Stabler remain good friends rather than lovers. Of course, with Organized Crime being canceled, there are hopes that Meloni can return to SVU, but Hargitay clarified that it won’t be happening soon.
“Chris has his own show now [Hulu’s upcoming The Land]. At some point? I mean, anything’s possible. Yes. The answer to that is he and I are not … it’s not done. It’s not dun-dun [the L&O sound] — see what I did there?”
It’s interesting to think about how the big Benson-Stabler hookup almost came close to happening, but the door is open for that possibly occurring one day!
Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
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