<p id=”par-1_3″>Make it happen! </p>
<p id=”par-2_48″>For years, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/law-and-order-svu/?swcfpc=1″><em>Law & Order:SVU</em></a> fans have been begging for <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/mariska-hargitay-tired-asked-olivia-benson-elliot-stabler.html/”>Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler</a> to act on their obvious feelings for each other. Two years ago, the will-they-or-won’t-they pair almost locked lips in a season 24 episode of <em>SVU. </em>But Benson pulled away at the last moment. </p>
<p id=”par-3_12″>“Elliot, I want to,” she said. “I want to, but I can’t.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_8″>“What if it doesn’t work out?” she added. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-christopher-meloni-returns-to-svu-in-season-27″>Christopher Meloni returns to ‘SVU’ in season 27</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Benson-Stabler-Law-Order-SVU-Season-27.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Mariskta Hargitay and Christopher Meloni embracing on the set of ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Season 27″ class=”wp-image-3828576″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni are seen on the set of ‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’ on August 3, 2025 | Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-5_22″>Now, recent photos from the set of the NBC drama’s 27th season suggests that the two former parters are closer than ever. </p>
<p id=”par-6_73″>In the images, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/chris-meloni-wondered-pigeonholed-elliot-stabler-law-order-svu.html/”>Christopher Meloni’s Stabler</a> has his arms wrapped around Mariska Hargitay’s Benson, and the two are looking into each other’s eyes. While there’s no proof that a kiss actually takes place, the very cozy moments certainly suggests that it could happen when Meloni returns to <em>SVU </em>next season. (<em>SVU </em>vets B.D. Wong, who played Dr. George Huang, and Dann Florek, who played Captain Donald Cragen, will also appear in season 27.)</p>
<p id=”par-7_30″>Just a few days before photographers captured that Benson-Stabler moment on the NYC set, Meloni responded to a fan on <a href=”https://x.com/Chris_Meloni/status/1950018455010213965#m”>X</a> who was tired of waiting for a “Bensler” moment. </p>
<p id=”par-8_9″>“For f*ck sake, kiss her already,” the person wrote. </p>
<p id=”par-9_5″>“I’m f*cking trying,” Meloni responded. </p>
<p id=”par-10_5″>“Try harder,” multiple people replied. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-mariska-hargitay-says-benson-and-stabler-could-kiss-in-the-last-episode”>Mariska Hargitay says Benson and Stabler could kiss ‘in the last episode’</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-2″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”Bensler Get Steamy and Almost Kiss | NBC’s Law & Order: SVU” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/6t-zFEy0764?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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Mariska Hargitay Named Her Cat After a Taylor Swift Song: ‘Payback’s a B*tch’ </a>
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<p id=”par-11_23″>Stabler’s unresolved feelings for Benson came up again in <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dean-norris-promises-much-edgier-law-order-organized-crime-thanks-streaming.html/”><em>Law & Order: Organized Crime</em></a><em> </em>Season 5, which aired earlier this year on Peacock. </p>
<p id=”par-12_48″>“I think we and the writers are trying to find the way, a satisfying way home. We just don’t know what that home is,” Meloni told <a href=”https://www.tvinsider.com/1186824/law-order-organized-crime-stabler-benson-christopher-meloni-season-5-premiere-recap/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>TV Insider</a> of his NYC detective character’s slow-burn with Benson, adding that there’s enough material there to created “a whole new spinoff.”</p>
<p id=”par-13_13″>Meanwhile, Hargitay has hinted that she does see Benson and Stabler as endgame. </p>
<p id=”par-14_35″>“Maybe on the last episode,” Hargitay told <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AejC6m3w6PM” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>Call Her Daddy</em></a> host Alex Cooper in June when asked when the two would finally act on their sizzling chemistry. “I think that’s when they should be together.”</p>
<p id=”par-15_15″>“If it’s right,” the <em>My Mom Jayne </em>director added. “We’ll see when we get there.”</p>
<p id=”par-16_21″><em>Law & Order: SVU </em>Season 27<em> </em>premieres Thursday, September 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock. </p>
<p id=”par-17_11″><em>For more news and exclusive interviews, follow </em><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/showbizcheatsheet/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s Instagram</em></a><em>.</em></p>