Hargitay, of course, was referencing news from earlier in the week: Meloni will return to the SVU character he played for 12 seasons, via a new Dick Wolf procedural with Stabler at its center.
This week marked Christopher Meloni‘s birthday, but the real gift went to Law & Order: SVU fans everywhere, courtesy of Meloni’s former co-star Mariska Hargitay.
Hargitay and Meloni, however, are friends in real life and have frequently shown up in each others’ social media posts.
“Congratulations and welcome home Elliot Stabler,” Hargitay posted on Instagram on Thursday, following it with the hashtags #ItsBeenAWhile and #MissedYou.