Organized Crime Gets Renewed for Season 2 at NBC

Following his recent return to the Law & Order universe, NBC is keeping Elliot Stabler around for a while longer. Last month, Christopher Meloni finally reprised the role of the popular detective after departing from Law & Order: SVU a decade ago. He hadn’t so much as made a special appearance in the years since, and his return generated tremendous excitement among fans. On the same night of his SVU return, Meloni also kicked off his own Stabler-led spinoff series, Law & Order: Organized Crime.

As happy as most everyone was to see Stabler’s return, the response to Organized Crime was not quite as wonderful as NBC was expecting. Reviews have been very mixed, so much so that its Rotten Tomatoes score is currently sitting at 50% even. Ratings have dipped a bit since the premiere episode, though they’re still pretty strong a few weeks in, leaving the future of Organized Crime on the bubble. Ultimately, it was reported on Friday that NBC has gone ahead and ordered season 2 of the spinoff.

“In the nation’s largest city, the vicious and violent members of the underworld are hunted by the detectives of the Organized Crime Control Bureau. These are their stories,” Steven Zirnkilton says in the show’s opening narration. The series picks up with Stabler heading back to the NYPD following a violent attack on his family, leaving someone very close to the former detective dead. He has now formed a task force to specifically pursue the city’s most powerful crime syndicates.

Along with Christopher Meloni, Organized Crime stars Danielle Mone Truitt, Tamara Taylor, Ainsley Seiger, and Dylan McDermott. Ben Chase, Charlotte Sullivan, Danny Rodriguez, Michael Rivera, and Shauna Harley also star. Various crossover characters are featured as well with Stabler continuing to interact with his old SVU pals, such as Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson, Ice-T as Fin Tutuola, and Peter Scanavino as Dominick Carisi, Jr.

Because Stabler and Benson will continue interacting, some fans think a romantic storyline between them might finally happen. Via People Magazine, Meloni spoke about the possibility in an interview in April discussing what might just happen in the future. The actor admits that the idea came up often while shooting SVU in the past, and there’s a good chance something might happen now that Stabler has found himself single again.

“Obviously, we recognized it when we were together on SVU. We were always kind of toying with that, leaning into that, teasing with that,” Meloni said. “I think we’re going to stumble bumble, as I think most human beings do, through complicated areas or difficult terrain, emotional terrain. What are the answers?”

Meloni added: “Really, There are no answers right now. And I think that’s the art and the beauty of what we do, the writers get together and they create these connections or circumstances and the actors get to play them out, so I’m excited. I think there’s a world of possibility.”

In any case, Meloni will have at least another season of Organized Crime to further explore creative possibilities with his popular character. This news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.

Topics: Law and Order: Special Victims Unit