When is stabler coming back to svu

Elliot Stabler is back. The NYPD detective he played for years, now based in Rome—battling terrorism, sex trafficking, and organized crime—was reunited with longtime partner Mariska Hargitay , now Captain Benson, who has a tough time digesting his sudden reappearance in NYC.

The duo starred together on the first 12 seasons of SVU from until Stabler abruptly retired from the force, off-camera, in the Season 13 premiere. Now we know why. Looking up, she locks eyes with her former partner. Off-camera, word circulated that salary negotiations went south, prompting Meloni to unexpectedly quit after the finale.

To help explain his absence, Stabler explains in Thursday's episode that he had a "walkabout" for a few years before working in private security in Europe. He then joined a terrorism task force, which led to him becoming a liaison to the NYPD who specializes in sex trafficking and organized crime.

Are you sorry for walking, for not giving me the courtesy of telling me? Meloni starred on SVU for the first 12 seasons as Det. Elliot Stabler, whose friendship and partnership with Benson was one of the show's biggest hooks.

But in , Meloni shocked viewers when it was announced that he wouldn't return for the 13th season after his negotiations with the studio fell apart. As a result, the Season 12 finale doubled as Stabler's final episode, and viewers never got a proper goodbye for the beloved character. Now, the anticipated Stabler spin-off will bring the detective back to our screens in a new show from executive producer Dick Wolf. The first footage from Stabler and Benson's reunion is in.

Check it out. It premieres April 1. We'll see Stabler's family. The two-hour crossover will kick off with an SVU episode involving a threat to the Stabler family. We were going to see Kathy Stabler come back very upset. Her son has been rolled by a team of ne'er-do-wells and may have been drugged," Leight said on The Squadroom.

Stabler's family life may look different. But when speaking about the scrapped SVU finale that would have seen Kathy and one of their sons return, Leight said the episode would have revealed "what had happened to the Stabler family after Elliot both left SVU and apparently left them.

Does that mean that Stabler and Kathy got divorced? Stabler and Kathy did separate in Season 6 before the pair reconciled in Season 8, but we wouldn't be shocked if the couple decided to go their separate ways in the years since.

If you were looking for an exciting and emotionally messy ripping-open of the interpersonal mess left after El abruptly retired from the New York Police Department in Season 12, this was your Christmas.

The episode opens with Olivia driving in the rain, rushing to a crime scene. Remember that award she was getting? At the hospital, Fin fills Olivia in.