Mariska Hargitay says cut Benson and Stabler “SVU ”kiss was shot ‘a couple different ways’

Key Points

• Mariska Hargitay has revealed fresh details regarding the renowned almost-kiss between Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler (played by Christopher Meloni) in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

• “We filmed it in various ways,” Hargitay disclosed during her discussion with The Hollywood Reporter. “We believed it was well-deserved, and its handling was incredibly intricate.”

• The actors had previously stated that Law & Order creator Dick Wolf ultimately disallowed the kiss.

The renowned, unfulfilled kiss between Law & Order: Special Victims Unit‘s Olivia Benson, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay, and Elliot Stabler, played by Christopher Meloni, was shot in several iterations before Law & Order franchise mastermind Dick Wolf completely rejected it.

Enthusiasts will remember “the kitchen thing,” as Meloni refers to the short scene from a season 24 episode of SVU, where Stabler and Benson, whose romance appeared destined, almost shared a kiss following a long-standing “will-they-won’t-they” dynamic. Audiences were eager for the kiss after a 2023 “Blood Out” episode preview depicted Benson cradling Stabler’s face and moving in for a kiss — yet, when the episode aired, the embrace was absent.

Hargitay and Meloni had previously disclosed that a kiss was initially planned but then reversed at the last minute. However, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for its Awards Chatter podcast, Hargitay unveiled that she and her co-star had, in fact, filmed the kiss “a couple different ways.”

“We believed this moment was justified, that it could momentarily occur — and that’s how we filmed it,” Hargitay conveyed to the publication before a live audience at Napa Valley StreamFest. “Don’t you wish you were there for that?! Yes. We filmed it several different ways. Then, they [Wolf and his team] had the final decision in editing, and they [chose to feature the almost-kiss scene instead of the actual kiss].”

Hargitay admitted that she and Meloni opposed the choice to remove the kiss, stating, “we felt it was deserved, and the manner in which it was portrayed was genuinely intricate, profoundly beautiful, deeply human, and demonstrated the depth of their bond and their multifaceted connections.”

“[However,] regardless of my desires, Dick Wolf can simply say, ‘No,'” the actress expressed with regret.

When asked about Meloni’s potential return to SVU following the cancellation of his spin-off, Law & Order: Organized Crime, Hargitay logically noted that the actor is occupied with his forthcoming Hulu football drama, The Land.

“Chris currently has his own program. At some point? I mean, anything could happen,” she informed THR. “Yes. The response to that is he and I are not… it’s not over. It’s not dun-dun [the L&O sound] — get it?”

In “Blood Out” – a sanctioned crossover event involving SVU, which Meloni exited in 2011, and Organized Crime, launched in 2021 and recently concluded after five seasons – Benson and Stabler approached closer than ever to fulfilling the fan-desired relationship, affectionately dubbed “Bensler.”

“I care about you,” Stabler says to Benson following a characteristic action-filled, emotionally taxing assignment. The two move intimately close, embrace, and almost kiss, but Benson retreats, softly saying, “Elliot, I want to. But I cannot.”

In a TVLine Spotlight discussion in 2025, Meloni reiterated Hargitay’s feelings regarding their lack of authority to implement their preferred version over Wolf’s decision.

“I don’t declare, ‘This is what will be broadcast. This is what we’ll put on air.’ We lack that authority. We strive to be truthful with the scenes we’re provided,” Meloni elaborated, stressing that his and Hargitay’s objective is consistently to “render it authentic, not merely a tease. If we do tease, at least for me, it’s always done with an implicit understanding. I believe it’s good-natured, but perhaps you all are past that, and that’s acceptable. However, you attribute too much influence to us regarding the power we might wield — the ‘will-they-won’t-they’ and all related aspects.”

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At the very least, fans can be confident they’re not alone in their bewilderment over the gradual progression of the Benson-Stabler relationship. Fellow SVU actor Ice-T voiced his surprise during a recent “You two haven’t connected romantically at all yet?” SVU actor Ice-T questioned Hargitay during EW’s digital cover shoot in 2024. “Close, right? Nearly a kiss?” Hargitay playfully responded, “No, only twice in season 4!… No. We haven’t gotten together.”

Ice-T retorted, “Season 26.”

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