Inside Christopher Meloni's Relationship With Mariska Hargitay

Fans of the crime-fighting duo rejoiced earlier this year when Christopher Meloni announced his return to the Law and Order universe in an upcoming spinoff. First reported by Deadline, Meloni followed up with a teaser about his beloved character's return on Twitter. The series is reported to have a 13-episode run by longtime showrunner Dick Wolf, and will feature detective Elliot Stabler as an un-retired leader of an organized crime unit in the NYPD (via Good Housekeeping). 

Fan speculation has gone wild that this could be the beginning of a Benson/Stabler reunion. And while showrunners aren't giving away their secrets just yet, Hargitay's follow up to the news can give us reason to hope. On a recent Instagram post, she shares, "Happy Birthday @chris_meloni Congratulations and welcome home Elliot Stabler #It'sBeenAWhile #MissedYou #ElliotStabler." 

Like many fans of the longtime series, our hopes are high to see these two onscreen together again soon.