Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
Chris Meloni Embraces Coco Austin for Sweet Reunion at Law & Order's Premiere Party
The Law & Order: Organized Crime star and re-curring SVU guest star one are off-screen pals.
Det. Elliot Stabler has never been the most light-hearted guy around, but the actor who plays him on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime, Christopher Meloni, on the other hand, is a total ham. And no one knows that better than Ice T's wife Coco Austin.
Meloni starred alongside Ice T (Det. Fin Tutuola) for many years on SVU before leaving the franchise and then returning for his own spin-off, and Austin knows all too well that he's a softie at heart. Along with her husband being and SVU mainstay, Austin herself has guest starred on the series three different times.
RELATED: Every Time Ice T's Wife, Coco Austin, Made a Surprise Appearance on SVU
Chris Meloni and Coco Austin
"And then there's this guy....@chris_meloni might be a serious actor but the funny comedic side is award winning.. lol Been knowing @nbclawandorder guys for a looooooooong time now!" the star wrote alongside a sweet selfie of Meloni embracing her.
On Instagram, fans loved the adorable interaction, writing comments like, "Aw, I love this so much! It is so heartwarming to see the real friendships that have lasted decades because of the magic that is #SVU. ♥️✨" and "Great picture of you too! It’s the friendships along the way that count."
Austin's not exaggerating when she praises Meloni's humor. Though he's best known as the tough, sometimes angry cop we all know and love from the Law & Order universe, he's also been involved in a variety of comedy projects like They Came Together, Veep, and Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. He delivers an absolutely delightfully unhinged performance as camp cook Gene in the cult classic Wet Hot American Summer, a role he reprised in both Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.
Old friends, new selfies
At the same event, what appears to be a group dinner celebrating the season premieres of both SVU and Organized Crime, Meloni also met up with another special lady, Mariska Hargitay (Captain Olivia Benson). The original SVU duo met up for a cozy pic together, which Meloni captioned, "…and in the beginning. @therealmariskahargitay @nbc @wolfentertainment #OCtonight."
Commented Hargitay, "And in the beginning… There was you."
The latest on Bensler
While Hargitay and Meloni may be close friends in real life, their onscreen counterparts have a much more complicated relationship, which fans were eager to get an update on as their shows returned. Elliot and Olivia haven't interacted — yet — but viewers did get a peek into where things stand between them at the end of the Season 4 Organized Crime premiere, which found Stabler leaving a yearning message on Benson's voicemail:
“Hey, Liv, it’s me. I just got back,” he said. “Um, I got a message from someone, an old case of ours, and I don’t know, maybe I just wanted to hear your voice. Call me. Bye.”
RELATED: Olivia Benson's 10 Most Intense Law & Order: SVU Episodes
Laughing, crying, Meloni makes us feel all the feelings. Tune in to Law & Order: Organized Crime and Special Victims Unit Thursdays on NBC.
