‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 17: Chris Meloni surprised at rumors of return

While we suppose that it’s still possible that we could someday see Chris Meloni return as Stabler on “Law & Order: SVU,” we come bearing a reminder that it is not going to be happening anytime soon.

Speaking in a new appearance on “HuffPost Live” where he was promoting his new project “Underground,” Chris admits that he was surprised to hear talk about him potentially returning to the show:

“No, I heard that rumor along with everybody else … I have no idea where that came from or what that’s about.”

To be fair, there was never any precise talk in regards to Chris actually returning to the show in the first place. Instead, more of it stemmed from comments made by executive producer Warren Leight saying that it would be nice to have Stabler back in some capacity before the show ends, which is probably a sentiment that most people out there agree with. We know that Meloni’s exit was more sudden than many actors’ departures from shows tend to be, but at the same time it would be a nice move on all parties in order to get him back for one more appearance to pay tribute to the fans who watched him for more than a decade on the show.

“SVU” has already been renewed for an eighteenth season, and with that, we’re already wondering if the show can match the original “Law & Order” with 20 seasons. We at one point doubted this could happen, but now, anything is possible!

(Photo: NBC.)