After playing Detective Elliot Stabler on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" since its 1999 premiere, Christopher Meloni will not be returning for season 13.
According to TVGuide, contract negotiations between the 50-year-old actor and NBC executives fell through Tuesday, causing reports that the show’s creator Dick Wolf is scrambling for a replacement.
However, NBC chief Robert Greenblatt announced last week he was confident that Meloni would close his deal to return next season and that the network was in “pretty great shape.”
While it has been confirmed that the series’ female lead, Mariska Hargitay, has renewed her contract, Greenblatt added that he was prepared for the possibility that one day “SVU” would eventually move forward without its two main characters.
Hargitay received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006 for her role as Detective Olivia Benson on the show.
There was talk that Hargitay’s character would be promoted to a supervisor position, leaving room for Jennifer Love Hewitt to move in as a new detective.
The former “Ghost Whisperer” star earned rave reviews for her guest spot earlier this season as a rape victim on the show.
“Jennifer Love is somebody we’ve been circling,” Greenblatt said, “but I don’t know that that is going to happen at all.”
Meloni and Hargitay, who both were reportedly earning almost $375,000 per episode, went through similar contract negotiations in May 2009 when they tried to go after back-end profits. Months later, their contracts were renewed for two years.
According to TVGuide, contract negotiations between the 50-year-old actor and NBC executives fell through Tuesday, causing reports that the show’s creator Dick Wolf is scrambling for a replacement.
However, NBC chief Robert Greenblatt announced last week he was confident that Meloni would close his deal to return next season and that the network was in “pretty great shape.”
While it has been confirmed that the series’ female lead, Mariska Hargitay, has renewed her contract, Greenblatt added that he was prepared for the possibility that one day “SVU” would eventually move forward without its two main characters.
Hargitay received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006 for her role as Detective Olivia Benson on the show.
There was talk that Hargitay’s character would be promoted to a supervisor position, leaving room for Jennifer Love Hewitt to move in as a new detective.
The former “Ghost Whisperer” star earned rave reviews for her guest spot earlier this season as a rape victim on the show.
Meloni and Hargitay, who both were reportedly earning almost $375,000 per episode, went through similar contract negotiations in May 2009 when they tried to go after back-end profits. Months later, their contracts were renewed for two years.
