Chris Meloni Not Quitting Law & Order

Law & Order: SVU star Chris Meloni has secured his future on the cop drama following reports he was planning to quit the show.

The actor admits he was wrong to suggest he was leaving the hit show in a recent interview with an Australian newspaper - and should have chosen his words more carefully.

The TV star, who plays Detective Eliot Stabler on the show, says, "What I said was, 'When your contract is done... that will be the end. Because when your contract is done, it's usually the end."

"I couched it incorrectly... I had one year on my contract. Our show hasn't been picked up. Those are the facts of the matter."

But Meloni insists he'll stay with the show if it gets picked up

Christopher Meloni to Quit Law & Order: SVU

Actor Christopher Meloni has left fans of TV cop drama Law & Order: Svu stunned after announcing he's quitting the show in 2011.

The star has been playing top cop Detective Elliot Stabler since the show started in 1999 and he has decided it's time to walk away.

He'll film one more season of the drama and quit in May, 2012.

In a statement, Meloni says, "I think 12 years is enough, a good number... It will be a very difficult transition. I mean, Jesus Christ, every day when you get used to getting up early and working these hours.

"When you're an actor (not working) it's like, 'Has anyone called yet?'. And having to audition again, which I loathe."

Mariska Hargitay: Jay Leno Hurt SVU's Ratings

After battling all manner of adversity – losing her mother at 3 years old, struggling with mountains of debt as a young woman – Mariska Hargitay felt blessed to find success on NBC's Law & Order: SVU. Which is why she's peeved that the show had to suffer to make room for Jay Leno's low-rated prime-time program.

Being moved to 9:00 pm "ruined our numbers," the actress tells More magazine in its February issue. "Nobody knew when the show was on. Finally, we're starting to find our audience again."

She adds: "I hope we go back to where we belong. It was doing so well. Why mess with it?"

Hargitay, who turns 46 on Saturday, also touches on her personal life, from her family (she married actor Peter Hermann in 2004, and they have a 3-year-old son, August) to her self-image and financial worries.

She has a scar on her forehead from the 1967 car accident that took the life of her mother, '50s bombshell Jayne Mansfield. "She's definitely always with me," Hargitay says. "I love it when people say, 'She had such a great laugh, and so do you.' When I find similarities, it gives me so much peace."

Fall TV Premieres: Wednesday Night

Tonight's "Hump Day" prime time schedule is filled with plenty of returning shows and new series premieres. Here's what new on TV tonight:

COUGAR TOWN (ABC 9:30 pm): A recently divorced single mother (Courtney Cox-Arquette) explores the honest truths about dating and aging in a beauty and youth obsessed culture in this hilarious comedy that is sure to become an ABC hit.

CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS 9:00 pm): Season five will pick up where the show end off in May; the morning after Hotch (Thomas Gibson) has returned home from his Canadian mission, only to be greeted and seemingly shot by his old nemesis, the Reaper (C. Thomas Howell).

CSI: NY (CBS 10:00 pm): Season six premieres with Mac (Gary Sinise) and Stella (Melina Kanakaredes) mourning the loss of Detective Angell (Emmanuelle Vaugier) who is still alive but their is a life changing result for a cast member.

EASTWICK (ABC 10:00 pm): Like the John Updike novel and the 1987 movie (Witches of Eastwick), the show focuses on three women in New England -- Roxanne (Rebecca Romijn), Kat (Jaime Ray Newman) and Joanna (Lindsay Price) -- who discover they have supernatural powers

GARY UNMARRIED (CBS 8:30 pm): There is no surprise that Gay (Jay Mohr) is still unmarried when the 2nd season premieres. New challenges get thrown into Gary's past this season, including his love interest Sasha (Brooke D'Orsay) and an old friend Curtis (Keegan-Michael Key), who both work at the radio station Gary will be painting.

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (NBC 9:00 pm): Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) will deal with cases this year that forces them to make very tough decisions. They will also be joined by several high-profile guest stars including Christine Lahti as the new Executive DA and Wentworth Miller who will face-off with the duo.

MODERN FAMILY (ABC 9:00 pm): This new series is a satirical look at three different families and the trials they face in each of their own uniquely comedic ways. It includes a multi-cultural couple (Ed O'Neill & Sofia Vergara), a traditional family (Ty Burell & Julie Bowen) and a gay couple (Jesse Tyler Ferguson & Eric Stonestreet). This has got to be one hilarious "family"!

NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE (CBS 8:00 pm): Plenty of loose ends are tied up including Richard (Clark Gregg) being left at the altar, and Christine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Matthew (Hamish Linklater) getting jilted by their respective lovers as the show starts it's 5th season.

All hours based on Eastern Time.

Wentworth Miller Joins Law & Order: SVU

Prison Break star Wentworth Miller has joined Law & Order: SVU’s season premiere according to TV Guide.

The 37-year-old England-born actor will be joining the NYPD as a cop named Nate Kendal. His actor reportedly saves a rape victim in the episode.

You’ll have to wait over two months to get your Wentworth fix though. The episode will air on Wednesday September 23rd at 9:00 pm (ET).

Mariska Hargitay & Christopher Meloni Back For More Law & Order

After months of reportedly tense contract negotiations, Emmy winner Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni – stars of Law & Order: SVU – have agreed to return to the popular NBC crime drama for another season.

The agreement means that starting in the fall, SVU will begin its 11th season with Hargitay and Meloni as stars. While terms of the deal have not been disclosed, both stars were reportedly earning $385,000 per episode before a new deal was struck.

Sunday's Stud: Christopher Meloni

Christopher Melori may have spent the last decade solving crimes on "Law & Order: SVU" with the lovely Mariska Hargitay. But Christopher Meloni will forever have my heart for his portrayal of the sexy Chris Keller on HBO’s late, great prison drama "Oz".

The chemistry between Meloni and his co-star Lee Tergesen was rare and real.

Here are a few scenes from Oz with Meloni and Tergesen. It seems like every time they lock lips, some damned guard wanted to break things up! Don’t those guards know how hot it is to watch two inmates kissing?







BTW, these two actors really kissed during their many scenes.