NBCGetty Images
Law & Order: SVU fans were dealt a blow almost a decade ago, when NBC revealed the shocking news that Christopher Meloni’s beloved Elliot Stabler a co-lead of the show opposite Mariska Hargitay wouldn’t be returning for the show’s thirteenth season. A decade on, though, the story has a happy ending. The contract snafu that prompted Meloni’s exit from the show has evidently been resolved, and Stabler will be returning to the Law & Order universe in a new spinoff titled
Law & Order: Organized Crime.
In honor of this long-awaited return, here’s a rundown of Meloni’s nine most iconic performances.