New breed ‘Law & Order’ brings back NYPD detective Stabler

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The latest member of the “Law & Order” franchise has a familiar face playing a familiar character, but producer Dick Wolf says he’s switching up the storytelling. NBC’s “Law & Order: Organized Crime” stars Christopher Meloni as New York police detective Elliot Stabler, the role he played until 2011 on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Unlike the mostly self-contained episodes of other “Law & Order” series, the new drama moves from one criminal syndicate to another in multi-episode arcs. It debuts Thursday at 10 p.m. Eastern, paired in a crossover episode with “Law & Order: SVU” starring Mariska Hargitay at 9 p.m. Eastern.