From Chris Meloni To Dean Norris

Old-school “Law & Order” was always about the crime — and the trial. But last season, “Law & Order: Organized Crime” struck squarely at the heart of family — specifically, the Stabler gang. 

Back in 2021, the show fronted by former “Law & Order: SVU” star Christopher Meloni premiered as “Organized Crime” on NBC, crossing over with “SVU.” It was the first time Meloni had returned to the “L&O”-verse since he’d departed in 2011.

Now, “Organized Crime” is returning for a fifth season, with a shift over to Peacock. The first episode will also premiere April 17 on NBC at 10 p.m. ET after a new “SVU” episode in which Meloni makes a guest appearance.

Trouble was brewing among the fractious Stabler brothers at the end of “OC” Season Four, with their personal drama bleeding over into Elliot Stabler’s work life, and another Organized Crime Control Bureau detective was getting divorced after an affair with a co-worker.

Things were, as they are often in “OC” land, rather unstable.  

But who’s returning? What stories are expected? And who’ll be the new kid on the block? Well, now that things are truly “organized” ahead of the premiere, let’s meet our key players in Season Five.

(Peacock is part of our parent company, NBCUniversal.)

Christopher Meloni (Detective Elliot Stabler)

Last season, Elliot’s family, which had always been a big part of his life, grew even bigger. With the addition of his brothers, Randall (Dean Norris) and Joe “Joey” Jr. (Michael Trotter), and return of Mama Bernadette “Bernie” Stabler (Ellen Burstyn), in addition to Stabler’s many children, in-laws and grandchildren, suddenly “OC” became a lot more like “The Stabler Clan.”  

“The family is involved,” Meloni told TODAY.com in 2024. “I’m always pushing for more of that. I like that dynamic and I think the audience does, too.” 

Appearances by Stabler’s children, whom he had with wife Kathy Stabler (Isabel Gillies) before her death in his 2021 return “SVU” episode, are also likely. But it’s not yet clear when Maureen (Autumn Mirassou), Dickie (Jeffrey Scaperrotta), Lizzie (Kaitlyn Davidson) and Kathleen (Allison Siko) may pop up. The youngest of the bunch, daddy-to-be Eli (Nicky Torchia), can be seen in a photo from the new season, so expect some scenes with him. 

What’s missing? A new life partner for the elder Stabler. Many fans want Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay, most often seen on “Law & Order: SVU”) to fill that role. Well, whether or not that will ever happens remains to be seen, but there is some good news for Bensler fans. Olivia will be coming over for a visit to “OC” in Episode Two of the new season.

For those just coming into this aspect of the drama, Benson and Stabler were partners for many years on “SVU,” but Stabler left the “L&O”-verse after 12 seasons before coming back in 2021 for “OC.” While the two have never been in a romantic relationship, they’re about as close as two people can be without having been in one.

Meanwhile, Stabler continues to anticipate his next grandchild’s arrival, throw himself into his work and keep his famous temper in check. (Last season he underwent a brief suspension after getting physical with a minor.)

Danielle Moné Truitt (Sgt. Ayanna Bell)

Stabler may be the focus in “OC,” but Bell leads the unit. Recently divorced and helping to raise her son, Jack, she’s been in charge since the show debuted and oversees the cases with strong will and a cool head. (Much needed in this group.) She also partners with Stabler as well as supervising the unit — and last season ended up shot by a gang leader’s son. (She’s OK.) 

The new trailer for “OC” shows Bell sending Stabler undercover, which leads to him being injured as a truck smashes the vehicle he’s driving. The repercussions of this incident are likely to reverberate throughout multiple episodes, so expect Bell to have big thoughts on that event. 

Season Five may be even more active for Bell. Truitt recently told TODAY.com that after feeling like the “mama bear” in the unit, she informed the showrunner at the time that she’d like to do more than that. “I feel like her function as a leader is beyond just trying to protect everybody all the time, and mothering everybody all the time,” she said.  

Ainsley Seiger (Detective Jet Slootmaekers)

Solving crimes doesn’t always happen on the street, which means the OC unit needs a brilliant computer hacker-type genius back in the office. For them, it’s the youthful Slootmaekers, who can chase down elusive criminals for the unit. But Slootmaekers can go undercover with the best of them when needed. 

Seiger, whose character is also known for her deadpan sense of humor, occasionally posts pictures from the show on Instagram, and in February 2023 she wrote, “Can’t really articulate what this arc has meant to me so i will save it for my diary and maintain an air of mystery and allure…. but know that i am very very muchly grateful.”

Meanwhile, Slootmaekers and colleague Detective Bobby Reyes (Rick Gonzalez) began having a surprising affair, which was revealed early on in Season Four. The whole thing started while they were dealing with their grief after the death of their co-worker Detective Jamie Whelan (Brent Antonello), who died in the Season Three finale. The relationship fizzled out over the course of last season, and the two agreed to be friends.

Rick Gonzalez (Detective Bobby Reyes)

A former foster care child, Reyes wasn’t an original member of the OC unit, but since he signed on in Season Three, he’s become a fan favorite. The force works best when they have top undercover folks, and Reyes has proved to be just that — in more ways than one.

Called “The Invisible Man” by his co-workers because of his ability to transform into whatever deep cover character he needs to be, he first met the others in the unit by pretending to be an electrician at the interview, listening in on their discussion of the investigation — then announced himself. That’s a way to make an entrance!

“He can be nobody and everybody at the same time, and that’s going to be useful for the unit,” Gonazalez told TODAY.com in 2022.

That said, Reyes’ undercover activities were a bit more figurative early in Season Four, when viewers learned that he — a married man — slept with co-worker Slootmaekers. They called off the affair shortly after. He later revealed he’d signed divorce papers and took a leave of absence.

Dean Norris (Randall Stabler)

Divorced and until recently living in Florida, Randall visited his younger brother Elliot in Season Four, helping out at a family dinner with much of the extended Stabler family attending. But the brothers started arguing when Randall revealed the real reason he left home when Elliot was younger. Randall explained he was the one who called Internal Affairs on their dad, Joe Sr., a former police officer, to inform them about “all the nastiness” Joe Sr. was involved in. When Elliot asked why, Randall said their father used to beat their mother “on a nightly basis.”

Randall also got caught up in Elliot’s work life after they learned younger brother Joe Jr. got caught up in drugs with a bad group of men, and the two tried staged an intervention for their brother.

In Season Five, Randall will also cross paths with another person close to Elliot: Benson.

Norris joked in an interview with TODAY.com that Elliot is “nervous that Randall might be trying to hit on Benson.”

“I think he’s feeling a little jealous,” Norris continues. “I think me and Mariska have a little thing. I mean, just saying!”

The first two episodes of “Law & Order: Organized Crime” Season Five premiere April 17 on Peacock. New episodes will stream weekly.