Elliot Stabler is "coming home."
This is the very message teased in the exclusive first look at the new key art for NBC's Law & Order: Organized Crime. In the just-released image for the upcoming Law & Order: Special Victims Unit spin-off, Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler is front-and-center. And, if we're going off just the tone of the photo below, it's safe to say that Organized Crime will be one dark and gritty show.
Not to mention, the show's description also teased that Organized Crime follows Stabler (Meloni) as he returns "to 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. Stabler will aim to find absolution and rebuild his life while leading an elite new task force that is taking apart the city's most powerful crime syndicates one by one."
Earlier this month, NBC confirmed the Meloni-led show's premiere date, which is Thursday, Apr. 1.
In fact, Meloni's return to the Law & Order world after 10 years will kick off with a two-hour crossover with SVU. This crossover event marks the on-screen reunion of longtime co-stars Meloni, who played Stabler from 1999 to 2011, and Mariska Hargitay, who plays Captain Olivia Benson on the long-running crime procedural.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting Meloni's return to SVU since March of last year. Originally, Meloni was set to reprise his beloved role as part of SVU's season 22 premiere, which was going to serve as the launch for Organized Crime. However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the loss of a showrunner delayed Meloni's return.
By the end of 2020, Meloni confirmed that he was back portraying Detective Stabler. Specifically, at the beginning of December, he posted a picture of Stabler's United States Marine Corps tattoo.
He wrote, "#firstdayofschool."
Since then, Meloni has been keeping fans up to date with behind-the-scenes photos from set, including a couple pictures with Hargitay.
For a taste of what's to come, check out the exclusive key art above.
Law & Order: Organized Crime, which also stars Dylan McDermott and Tamara Taylor, premieres Thursday, April 1 on NBC.
Binge past episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Peacock.
(E!, NBC and Peacock are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)