you know them. you love them They are television’s longest-running “Will They, Won’t They?”
For more than 20 years, Elliot Stabler, played by Christopher Meloni, and Olivia Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay, have been cracking down on criminals and fighting crime on NBC’s “Law & Order” series. They also have a lot of chemistry, and Meloni, who is part of PEOPLE’s Sexiest Men of 2025 feature, knows it.
So we had to ask: What’s the sexiest part of the relationship between “EO” (as fans call Elliot and Olivia)?
“Oh my god, they know each other tacitly. I think that’s the depth of their friendship,” Meloni, 64, says. “And they’ve been making these stabs and attempts to make this something different…”
gavin bond
Meloni is, of course, referring to the infamous near-kiss and the “I love you”(s) that Stabler threw at Benson. The most recent one happened on the season 27 premiere of SVU earlier this fall.
“Benson and Stabler together is tough! It’s tough,” Meloni said, quickly bursting into laughter at the unintended innuendo. “Am I blushing?”
But after a little insistence that anything is possible given enough time, Meloni silently agreed.
“Yeah, I have the energy, but I just don’t have the time,” he argued, frowning.
Virginia Sherwood/NBC
But all jokes aside, when asked what Stabler’s ideal ending would be if he could write it himself, the Shun actor got serious.
“Some conclusion has been reached for Benson and Stabler,” he says thoughtfully. “I think both Stabler and Benson’s characters should ride their horses into the sunset.”
Season 5 of “Organized Crime” is currently airing on NBC and can also be streamed on Peacock. Meloni has played Stabler since 1999, when he first starred opposite Hargitay.
After leaving SVU in 2011, he reprized the role in the organized crime spin-off series in 2021.
“Organized crime stablemates are sexier,” Meloni says. “He has a kind of great wine quality.”
NBCU Photo Bank; Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty
In fact, Meloni says he always had a vision for the character, dating back to 1999.
“When I got the role, I read the script and thought, ‘Wow, this is a really stressful job,’ because you’re dealing mostly with women and children. So I asked[producer]Dick Wolf if it was ok for me to have four children instead of three. I gave it to Elliot what I had created in my head. The first part was about my girlfriend being devastated, so I had to marry her to make it right, because I’m a good Catholic and I love her.” Say. “Then the last two kids were unplanned and they’re twins! I thought it was funny, but I also thought, ‘This is…(a lot).'” I always wanted to fall on top of Stabler. He’s a guy who can handle pressure.”
Notably, by the time Meloni left the show in 2011, Stabler had five children. That, uh, wasn’t part of his plan.
“No, no,” Meloni declared with a laugh. “I wanted everything to stop at 4 o’clock.”
“Law & Order: Organized Crime” airs Thursdays at 10pm on NBC and is also available to stream on Peacock.
