Mariska Hargitay has signaled that Christopher Meloni will return as Elliot Stabler for the 600th episode of Law & Order: SVU, posting two photos of the pair on set Tuesday.
In the first Instagram post, Hargitay points at Meloni, who faces away from the camera, with the caption “Who dat?” A few hours later she shared a smiling selfie of them together, captioned “Happy 600.” She has not said how large his part is or how long he stays, and Meloni stayed quiet when E! News asked about the rumors.
The milestone episode is scheduled for Nov. 12, the sixth episode of Season 28, which premieres Oct. 8. Hargitay is also directing it, according to entertainment trade reports.
Meloni last appeared as Stabler in the Season 27 premiere, which aired Sept. 25, 2025. In that episode, Stabler met Olivia Benson outside the wake for their former captain, Donald Cragen, and told her he loved her.
The return continues a pattern of exits and comebacks. Meloni left SVU in 2011 after 12 seasons and revived Stabler in 2021 for the spinoff Organized Crime. NBC canceled that series in April after five seasons.
Its end appeared to close the door on the character. In an earlier Variety profile, Meloni described the finale as a shutting of that door, while Hargitay said she never wanted him to leave the original series. She said she tried hard to broker a different outcome because the parting had not gone well.
Their reunion lands in a season already stacked with guest stars. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson appears in the fifth episode, airing Nov. 5, in a role NBC has kept under wraps. Hargitay recently hosted the 2026 Emmy Awards.
The show follows an NYPD unit that investigates sexual assault, child abuse and domestic violence. Hargitay has starred in every season, alongside Ice-T as Sgt. Odafin Tutuola. Dick Wolf created the series.
