Crossover November: Should another Law & Order: SVU – Chicago PD event happen?

Back when One Chicago was starting to become more of a thing, NBC decided to do a very welcome thing: Bring together the worlds of Law & Order: SVU and Chicago PD. There were many cool things that came along with that, whether it be a chance to see Voight work alongside Benson or to have a common criminal that ran across Chicago and New York City.

These episodes were a real gift and a treat for fans (and for us at CarterMatt!) — but now they’ve all but disappeared.

What happened? Why aren’t we getting any more of these right now? One of the biggest reasons is simply due to logistics. The two shows film in separate cities so in terms of cost and scheduling, it’s so much harder to make this work than a standard One Chicago crossover. Also, with Chicago Med now going strong there are more local shows for Chicago PD to crossover with. It also makes more sense creatively for Intelligence to deal with other characters right in their own backyard. It’s a little harder to find reasons for Intelligence to go to New York or for the Special Victims Unit to go to Chicago.

Still, there has to be some more ways to make a crossover work, even if it’s a similar premise than the last time with a criminal spanning the two seasons. It’s worth it just to see Benson have to work with Voight again. These two characters have had an interesting relationship, and we’re curious to see how Olivia would respond to some of the changes within the Chicago PD as a result of the police reform movement. We think she’d be rather pleased with them.

We certainly know and understand that there are a group of Benson/Voight ‘shippers out there, and chemistry-wise we get it. However, we don’t think the odds of the two of them ever getting together are that high given that we’re talking about someone in Voight who kills people … seriously. This guy is one step away from being Dexter Morgan sometimes and Olivia would arrest him in a split second if she knew.

Why the timing is right for a crossover

Beyond just the curiosity factor of seeing these characters work with each other, there’s also a big creative link between the two shows. Chicago PD showrunner Rick Eid worked in that same capacity on SVU last season, so he knows and understands those characters. Meanwhile, SVU showrunner Michael Chernuchin was the showrunner for Chicago Justice during its run and is bringing one of those characters (Peter Stone) over to SVU. The common threads are already there — why not take the next step and just have it happen?

(Photo: NBC.)