Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni recently united and treated Law & Order: SVU fans with an image of their reunion.

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Meloni shared the image via Instagram with a sly caption, understating how momentous the event might be:

"Meeting peeps NYC #hanginWithAFriend," he wrote.

Hargitay plays Olivia Benson on the show and Meloni used to play Detective Elliot Stabler.

In a recent interview with HuffPostLive, Chris Meloni addressed the rumors about his return as Det. Elliot Stabler for the finale of Season 17 of Law & Order: SVU.

"No, I heard that rumor along with everybody else," the actor said. "I have no idea where that came from or what that's about."

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Law & Order: SVU showrunner Warren Leight revealed that Meloni would not be returning for the finale of season 17.

He revealed that the network and Meloni himself understood that his character's exit had been pretty abrupt, leaving fans wanting for some form of closure.

"In hindsight, NBC, Dick, Universal and Chris all know they could have handled that better," Leight said. "But I think Chris, over time from what I hear, began to realize that the fans were owed a little more."

He went on to suggest that the question of bringing Meloni back obviously didn't face any resistance because everybody understood that they had been lacking in empathy when they wrote him out of the show, even though they won't be bringing him back.

"None of the people in the room thought for a second, 'How will the fans experience this?'" Leight said. "It was a negotiation handled without much empathy on any of the participant's parts, and I think they all sort of know that now. And there wasn't much empathy for the fans either. I think everyone probably learned, but you can't roll the clock back."

The next episode, "Unholiest Alliance," will air on March 23 on NBC.

Watch the preview for the latest episode, "Manhattan Transfer":

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Law And Order SVU, Nbc, Television