Christopher Meloni Will Star as Elliot Stabler in Law & Order: SVU Spin-Off

In news that will make you temporarily forget that we are currently living in the darkest timeline: our boy Elliot Stabler is headed back to television! At long last, Christopher Meloni will reprise his beloved Law & Order: Special Victims Unitcharacter, but it won't be for the long-running primetime drama. Instead, Meloni will headline a new Dick Wolf series.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, NBC already gave the straight-to-series, 13-episode order for a new crime procedural centered on the former SVU detective. The show will focus on NYPD's organized crime unit, which is led by Stabler. With both Stabler and Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson working under the same department -- albeit different units -- that leaves plenty room for these two to finally reunite on screen. Besides, we all know Dick Wolf loves a crossover.

Details about the forthcoming series remain scarce, but we do know that Wolf will executive-produce alongside Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski. Rumors indicate that former Chicago P.D.showrunner Matt Olmstead will likely take the helm for the series, though that hasn't been confirmed. Olmstead was replaced by Rick Eid as Chicago P.D.'s showrunner starting in Season 6, while Eid previously served as SVU's showrunner, proving that Dick Wolf's universe is extremely connected. NBC declined to comment for this story.

Meloni starred opposite Hargitay for SVU's first 12 seasons before retiring from the police force in 2011 following a traumatic case. If you'll recall, he was forced to shoot and kill a 16-year-old girl and was subsequently placed on administrative leave. Though he was eventually cleared, Stabler refused to submit to a psych evaluation and take anger management courses, choosing to leave the job instead. He hadn't been seen or heard from since then, so the new series should explain what the former detective has been up to in the last decade.

This news was first reported by Deadline.

Law & Order: SVU is available to stream at NBC and Hulu.