Call a bus because we can't get over Law & Order: Organized Crime's secret weapon.
Organized Crime, or OC, as it's been dubbed, is currently in its second season and brought Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) back home. Stabler, who now works for the Organized Crime Control Bureau, is determined to bring down criminal mastermind Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott) with the help of his new task force.
Enter: Jet Slootmaekers, an NYPD detective and gifted hacker, who is played by 23-year-old Law & Order newcomer Ainsley Seiger. (The actress is the same age as TV's longest running drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit—the very show that inspired the Organized Crime spin-off series she now stars in.)
So how does one go from a University of North Carolina college grad to joining Meloni and other Law & Order greats on screen? For that answer, we sat down with Seiger herself—this is her story.
E! News: You landed your role right out of college! How did that happen?
Ainsley Seiger: It's a wild story. I really, truly feel like I did nothing. After I graduated, I moved back in with my parents in North Carolina. And I was just sending in self-tapes and auditions all the time. Towards January of 2021, I got an audition for Law & Order: Organized Crime. In the email it said that the only talent set was Chris Meloni as Elliot Stabler, and I was like, "Aha, well, this would be cool." I sent it in, and I really didn't think anything of it. And then, a week later, I was on a walk around my neighborhood and I got a call from my agents and my manager and they were like, "Hey, you're moving to New York in two days to start shooting!"
E!: How does it feel to work on one of the most famous TV franchises?
AS: It never gets old. I want to wake up every day and feel like, "Ahhh, this is so crazy!" And for the most part, I still do feel that way, which I'm incredibly grateful for. But the fact that it is a little bit more normal now is so bonkers to me.
E!: And working with Christopher Meloni?
AS: I am still constantly in the back of my mind like, "It is Chris Meloni!" And sometimes I'll say things to him and I'm like, "Oh, better watch your mouth!" You know? But he's so funny. And he is so good at taking a joke.
E!: On the show, you have an octopus on your desk. What's the backstory there?
AS: When I first got to set, one of our producers was like, "Hey, if you wanted to, feel free to bring some stuff in that you think Jet would have on her desk." I had just moved to the city, and I was like, "I don't own anything!" So I just let the desk stay the way that it was for all of season one and most of season two. And then I got this little stuffed octopus. It was part of a birthday gift from a bunch of fans of the show.
But the octopus shows up in, I think it's the episode after Stabler thinks that Malachi is involved with Richard Wheatley. And then [Malachi] comes back in the next episode. And I'm like "No, no, it was just like it was a misunderstanding, we cleared it up." So, in my mind, the octopus is like a little "I'm sorry" gift from Malachi to Jet. This is exclusive news!
E!: We have to ask, is there going to be Jalachi scenes in the future?
AS: I hope that everyone will be pleasantly surprised by the Jalachi content. I'm excited.
E!: And the last time we saw Jet, she had just cracked Wheatley's rainbow table password, which happened to be Kathy Stabler's death date. What was your reaction when you read that?
AS: We don't really do table reads for the show. Usually when I get an episode, I'm sitting on my couch in my apartment. And as soon as I get it, I'll read through it just to see what's going on. I'm always so surprised. Every time I think that they can't pull another twist that I'm not going to expect, they always manage to get me. I remember reading that, and just thinking like you son of a b--ch! It's so diabolical.
E!: Who would you like to see Jet have more scenes with?
AS: They're all so great. But, I would love to have more scenes with Olivia Benson. The crossover episode that I got to do with SVU was so fun. And I just love working with and being around Mariska [Hargitay], because I feel like I learn so much. She walks in the room and it is hers. She commands it, which I have so much respect for.
E!: Will we see Jet on the Law & Order revival?
AS: I haven't heard anything about that yet. However, if I were asked, I would not say no. I am so excited to see the O.G. show come back. I'm really looking forward to seeing just what they do with it, where they go, what kind of stuff they cover.
For more of Ainsley, catch her on Law & Order: Organized Crime when it returns tonight, Feb. 24 as part of a three-hour Law & Order series event, beginning at 8 p.m.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.)
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)