Chris Meloni to Leave "SVU"?
Credit: Bobby Bank/WireImage.com
Chris Meloni's time at Law & Order: Special Victims Unit might be winding down.
According to Australian newspaper Courier-Mail, Meloni will take his final bow as Detective Eliot Stabler on the show in season twelve; production on that season begins later this year, with episodes running through spring 2011.
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Meloni, 48, has costarred in the NBC spinoff with Mariska Hargitay since it premiered in 1999.
"I think 12 years is enough, a good number," the actor is quoted as telling the Courier-Mail. Meloni isn't sure whether his character will live or die, either. "The writers will have fertile ground to figure out how to arc [Eliot] out to another place -- whether it's this world or the next."
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Once he's off SVU, the star told the paper that he'd like to turn his attention to theater and "guerilla-style sleeper" movies.
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"It will be a very difficult transition," he admitted. "I mean, Jesus Christ, every day when you get used to getting up early and working these hours," he said.
See how costar Mariska Hargitay has lent a hand
Hargitay, meanwhile, apparently tells the paper that she plans to stay after Meloni's departure. She wonders how her character, Detective Olivia Benson, will take the news. "I don't think she could be without him. She loves him, he's her other half," she said emotionally.
Reps for NBC and Meloni could not be reached for comment.
Tell Us What You Think
38if chris goes so do I he is the show and he and mariska are just great together hope this is not true
Oh YAY!!!!!!
First of all is this really true...has anyone actually heard Chris himself (not a supposed newspaper interview)say he is leaving? And he still has a year to go on his contract...alot can happen in a year. I guess time will tell.
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Don't leave Stabler! This is one of my favorite shows!! He is so sexxxxy! This truly bites....he will missed. XOXOXOXO
Meloni leaves then Facebook posts this: On February 7, 2010 at a monthly board meeting at NBC Headquarters in New York; NBC Chief of Entertainment Angela Bromstad plans to have the defunct series, Law & Order: Trial by Jury renewed for a second season, saying "Fans of the series' were left with an immediate cancelation, especially with the sudden passing of Orbach. While Dick [Wolf] plans to start the LA series, it would be nice to give the legal series' another 'trial' run." No casting plans have been made yet, their first priority is to hire a set of writers to writers a second season.
omg chris wat the helll is your problem now the show will get less ratings amd might be closed down i dont know wat your thinking but i know mariska can and will carry the show without you im sad your leaving but mariska is the one that has won all the awards so she can carry the show on her own as i will still watch her because she is the best actreessss eva so yeah but one more thing pleaseeeeee get elliot and olivia to be together before you leave or just admit your feelings and share a kiss as you walk away olivia and elliot will have tears down their faces as elliot walks away from the precincyt after kissing olivia with munchg fin and cragen behind her as we fade to black something like that please chris thanks love mariska and svus biggest english fan chelsea ward xxxxxxxxxxxx
who cares, I watch for Mariska.
I don't blame him for deciding to leave after his contract is over. The writing has become quite bad. And ratings have been dropping as well. On any other network than NBC, SVU would be facing the cancellation question. As for his working in the future, he is the one most likely to continue working since he has made sure not to become typecast. He has worked all through SVU on other projects as well. With money in the bank, once he has the time to do larger roles, he can choose what he wants to do.And he'll be good at it because he is an actor.
I'm gonna miss him on Law & Order:SVU. This is one of me and my father's favorite shows. This is one show that we enjoy together. I wish him all the best on his future endeavors. Be blessed.
Neal Baer said this wasn't true!!! - www. twitter. com/nealbaer
I think Chris Meloni is great on SVU. He will be missed but he is a great actor and will find something else to do. Maybe TPTB can bring back Wentworth Miller as Detective Nate to fill in the vacant co-star spot.
IF this show goes on without him, I wonder if and how long it could possibly last? And that is NO dig/insult on the current characters...I LOVE this show...but I hate to say it, he just may be right...12 years is a long time for a show to air
SVU is my favorite law & order!!! I watch it because he and olivia are the best!
Chris already has an acting career outside of SVU. He has worked hard to maintain a varied career with the mostly small roles he was able to do while still shooting the show, although he did do a play during the summer of 2005. He is able to walk away from a paying gig because he has other things he is interested in doing. Christopher is a very talented actor who has done great work, especially on Oz IMO. I look forward to seeing him doing more great things in the future.
NOOOOO! Stabler and Benson make such an awesome team, it would be hard to see him go! But please, no romance between the two. He's married and I wouldn't want to see him and his wife break up (again). And it's so cliché to have the male and female lead get together. They should just be left as parterns who share a very special (non romantic) bond.
DON'T DO IT ELLIOT DON'T DO IT. Don't leave Olivia Alone!!!!!
Say it ain't so, Stabler! That show is GREAT and the 2 leads make it--she's smart and drop-dead gorgeous, he's a brooding hunk-a-doodle. The back up team of Ice-T and Munch (I know, real names, character names, all mixed up--that's the place this show holds in my heart!) is brilliant. If it's just the time thing, why don't the producers do what Criminal Intent did: bring in a second team of detectives and alternate shows? I don't need them to have a romance--her emotional dependence on him, and his on-again, off-again stuff with his wife are good enough for me. Please, Eliott/Chris, don't go!!
It took me a long time to get used to him playing Elliot Stabler, I always felt that his finest acting role was in Oz. I'm looking forward to seeing him in future roles. I will miss him. It won't be the same without him. However, I can see as an actor after 12 years, you want to sink your teeth in other roles. Good luck, Chris.
This is so sad!!! Alex Cabot finally comes back and then Elliot leaves?!? I love this show and Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay make a great team! I'm still waiting for them to reveal their secret romance on the show!
I can see where, as an actor, you've got to move on. But I'll miss him, too. I loved him way back when he was on NYPD Blue as a bad guy. I'll be your Mouse!