Say It Isn't So: Christopher Meloni Quits <em>Law & Order: SVU</em>
May 25, 2011, 9:44 a.m.
Sad news today for fans of "Law & Order: SVU:" Christopher Meloni, aka Detective Elliot Stabler, announced that he won't be returning next season.
We'll miss those baby blues
Sad news today for fans of dedicated detectives who investigate vicious sexually-based offenses: Christopher Meloni, aka Detective Elliot Stabler, announced that he will not be returning to the next season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Will justice ever be the same?
Meloni and NBC executives "could not come to an agreement on a new contract," despite reports that the actor was offered a "generous" salary to stay onboard. Meloni has been with the show since its premiere in 1999, embodying the tough-loving Detective Stabler for over 270 episodes. As Mindy Kaling put it in via Twitter: "HOW CAN CHRIS MELONI LEAVE LAW & ORDER SVU BEFORE WE'VE SEEN THEM RIP THE DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN STORY FROM THE HEADLINES?? #notfair."
The news comes on the heels of some other casting drama for the show, with rumors that Jennifer Love Hewitt might replace Meloni's co-star Mariska Hargitay, who re-signed her contract but is cutting her time on the show to spend more time with her family.
While "SVU" will never be the same, we'd like to take a moment to relive the glory days, in puppet form:
