Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni Reunite with Law and Order: SVU Costars at 2025 Emmys
“We are your Law and Order dream team, icons, veterans, survivors of so many rooftop chases,” Meloni said before presenting the award for best drama series
The 2025 Emmys gave fans a Law and Order: SVU reunion!
Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice T, Tony Goldwyn and S. Epatha Merkerson gathered on stage at the 77th annual ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 14, to present the award for Outstanding Drama Series. The friends and costars poked fun at one another as they celebrated 35 years of the franchise.
“We are your Law and Order dream team, icons, veterans, survivors of so many rooftop chases,” Meloni, 64, began.
“And we’re all here tonight with one clear mission,” Merkerson, 72, said before Goldwyn continued, “To remind you that Mariska Hargitay has literally resolved more fictional crimes than most actual precincts.”
“She’s been on SVU for 27 years,” Merkerson noted. “That’s longer than some of you have been in therapy because of SVU!”
Goldwyn then quipped of Hargitay’s character, “And don’t let the compassion fool you. Olivia Benson will hug a victim and knock out a perp all before lunch.”
“Alright, alright, alright. Everyone settle, that’s enough,” Hargitay, 61, chimed in. “I love you all. I seriously do. But this isn’t the Mariska Lifetime Achievement roast.”
“Wait a minute — this isn’t the Mariska Lifetime Achievement roast?” Ice-T, 67, joked.
Earlier in the night, Meloni took to Instagram to share selfies of him sitting in the audience with his Law and Order family.
Fans in the comments reacted to the crew, with one expressing excitement to see Meloni, Hargitay and Ice-T back together, “Omg! The OG 3!! Love that they know what the people want!!! 🙌🔥🙌”
“All legends 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽,” wrote another.
Hargitay, 61, posted a selfie with Meloni on her Instagram as well, simply captioning it, “You’re welcome.”
This isn’t the first Law and Order mini-reunion at the Emmys. Hargitay and Meloni were also presenters at the ceremony in 2010 and 2022.
At the 74th Annual Emmy Awards in 2022, the duo shared an unforgettable moment when, right before they announced the nominees, they teased fans and leaned in for a kiss but quickly pulled away. The move teased viewers who have long desired to see a romance blossom between their two characters on SVU.
The two have also been at the Emmys for their own SVU performances. Hargitay has been nominated eight times, winning once in 2006 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Meloni earned a nomination in 2006 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
The duo first met on an audition for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where they played partners Olivia Benson (Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Meloni). Although Meloni left the series in 2011, he later returned to the franchise with his spinoff series Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Over the decades, the two have become best friends and reunited on SVU and Organized Crime for crossover episodes. Hargitay is even the godmother of Meloni’s daughters.
When describing the moment she met Meloni to PEOPLE, Hargitay said, “I walked in, say him and I went, ‘That guy. That’s the guy.’ It went deep, very fast. We both knew that it was something big.”
She added, “I won’t say that I fully understood it, but I knew that meeting him was important and life-changing.”
Throughout the years, the friends have been open about their bond — and whether their characters would ever get together on screen. (In real life, Hargitay is married to Peter Hermann and Meloni is married to Sherman Williams.)
In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Meloni explained that no matter how much time has passed, “We just pick it up where we left off.”
“It’s like we don’t have this relationship with anyone else … It’s unique, it’s full of laughter, she’s full of love,” he said of Hargitay. “We just kind of fall seamlessly into that place every time we see each other.”
On Call Her Daddy in June 2025, host Alex Cooper asked Hargitay if she and Meloni’s characters will “ever end up together,” and she gave a real answer. “Maybe on the last episode,” she said. “I think that’s when they should be together.”
Still, that necessitates that the story is “right” for the two of them to finally give it a go. “We’ll see when we get there,” she said.
Of her relationship with her costar, Hargitay said she and Meloni are “soulmates.” She then added, “And I think that. I mean, Chris has had a profound impact on my life, my artistry. I think we’ve had a big impact on each other.”