Chris Meloni SVU Law & Order Ends

By: Michael Stevens
Published: Feb 7, 2010
Updated: Mar 10, 2010

NBC's Law & Order retires Detective Eliot Stabler after twelve seasons.

Few people even knew who Chris Meloni was until you bring up SVU. The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is coming to an end for Meloni. He will retire as Detective Eliot Stabler on the TV series in season twelve.

"I think 12 years is enough, a good number," Meloni said in a statement. However, he's still not sure if his character will live or die. "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."

Chris Meloni, 48, has costarred in the NBC spin-off with Mariska Hargitay since it premiered in 1999. Production on the twelve season begins later this year with episodes planned through spring 2011. He plans to turn his attention to theater and "guerilla-style sleeper" movies.

"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.

NBC Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

The original idea for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit originated with the 1986 case of Robert Chambers. Chambers strangled a woman during what he claimed to be consensual "rough sex" in Manhattan's Central Park. The crime inspired Dick Wolf to write the story for the season one episode of Law & Order titled "Kiss the Girls and Make them Die."

Initially there were concerns among the producers that the TV series would fail and hurt the franchise. Ted Kotcheff wanted to create a new series that was not dependent upon the original series for success. However, Wolf felt that it was important and commercially desirable to have "Law & Order" in the title.

Barry Diller, head of Studios USA, was concerned about the title and changed it to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The first episode was called "Payback." The television show premiered on NBC on September 20, 1999.

The TV series is filmed on location in New York City. It is a city of contrasts, inspiring artists and architects while struggling with how to keep its eight million inhabitants and visitors safe. In all five of New York's boroughs can be found enticingly rich neighborhoods and areas that featured urban decay.