Hargitay Reveals Cut Benson-Stabler Kiss in SVU S24

Mariska Hargitay, star of NBC's long-running drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, revealed that producers filmed a kiss between her character Olivia Benson and former partner Elliot Stabler, played by Christopher Meloni, during season 24, but ultimately cut the scene before airing. The disclosure, shared during a recent Hollywood Reporter Awards Chatter podcast, comes as the series was renewed for a 28th season and its Stabler-focused spinoff was canceled.

Hargitay described the moment as earned and complex during the live audience interview. "I think we felt that this moment was earned, that this thing could happen for a second and so that's how we shot it," she said. "We shot it a couple different ways. And then they—Wolf and others—had the choice in editing, and they opted to use the near-kiss version rather than the kiss." She and Meloni disagreed with creator Dick Wolf's decision, with Hargitay noting the scene was "really complex and very beautiful and very human and showed the complexity of their relationship and all the different ways that they're connected." Wolf opted for the tension-building near-kiss in the episode "Blood Out."