Mariska Hargitay & Chris Meloni Had a Gloriously Chaotic FaceTime: "That Was A Lot"
"What's up, girlfriend?" Meloni said as he hopped on a call with his SVU bestie.
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As multi-decade co-stars on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay have become some of the tightest friends in the entertainment business. And when they give each other a call, you can bet they pick up.
Case in point: Meloni's virtual pop-in during an October 2025 episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler, when he asked Amy Poehler if it would be fun to give Hargitay an impromptu FaceTime call to catch up, despite knowing she was on her way to film Poehler's podcast within the same hour. It's exactly the type of prank the Wet Hot American Summer alums would get up to. The call was inspired by Meloni losing video connection due to getting an incoming call from Hargitay. Meloni was staying at Hargitay's home at the time — so you can bet she was confused when her SVU ride-or-die didn't pick up the phone.
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Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay were all over the place on FaceTime
Ever the detective, once Meloni didn't answer her call, Hargitay immediately texted him: "Why won't you pick up? Are you naked?"
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This hilarious line of questioning inspired Meloni to give Hargitay a quick ring. The surprise FaceTime between the SVU stars was made all the funnier due to Hargitay having no clue that Meloni was on the podcast she was on her way to, or that Poehler was overhearing everything she said.
"What's up, girlfriend?" Meloni greeted Hargitay, making Poehler chuckle.
"I'm just so happy that you're there! I really am. I'm so happy," Hargitay said, the most serene host as she encouraged him to text him if he needed anything.
"Was that a hint?" Meloni teased, cheekily referencing her question earlier. "Do you want a nudie?"
"Could I?" Hargitay joked, not missing a beat. "But first of all, I'm so sorry. That's so gross about those lemons. I went through and bought a s--- ton of lemons because I loved having lemonade there all the time. Serious."
Not only is Hargitay a doting host, she also hooks up her guests with lemonade. "I saw your big lemonade sign there," Meloni laughed, changing the topic. "Hey, where are you going? What are you doing?"
Poehler waited with nervous jitters as Hargitay reported back, "Right now, I'm going to Amy Poehler, I'm doing a podcast."
As Hargitay prattled on about some of the other meetings on her docket, it didn't take her long to catch on to Meloni's silent chuckling.
"Why are you laughing?" Hargitay asked, suspicious of her friend's sudden shift in mood. Meloni shrugged it off, telling her that he loved Poehler with all his "heart and soul."
"You've always loved her," Hargitay said, a heartwarming end to the call.
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Amy Poehler joked that people would "pay" to watch Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay's FaceTime calls
After the SVU icons hung up, Poehler was keen to gush over the thrill of watching Meloni and Hargitay catch up.
"That was a lot," Meloni laughed.
"When I tell you that you guys should start an OnlyFans where people pay to hear you guys FaceTime? That was incredible," Poehler told him, adding that she began to sweat after her name came up. How would Hargitay speak of Poehler to her closest friend when the SNL alum wasn't around?
"Thank god she didn't say anything bad," Poehler laughed. "What if she had said, 'I have to go do this dumba-- podcast?'"
Meloni assured Poehler that Hargitay wasn't cut from that cloth, adding that Hargitay was the best and she wanted to have fun with Poehler. And the duo definitely had fun after Meloni bid farewell and Hargitay joined Poehler in the studio. Poehler was excited to reveal that she'd connected with Meloni ahead of the interview — a mere 20 minutes ago.
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"Oh my god, look at me, starting to sweat," Hargitay said.
"Okay, I'm sweating, too, because he answered your phone call while we were on Zoom," Poehler laughed as she and Hargitay recounted the previous call with while humorously astonished. After they teased that Meloni was likely rifling through all of Hargitay's belongings at that moment, Poehler took a moment to thank Hargitay for having such a big heart.
"First of all, thank you for not saying anything bad about me because it was like Meloni put us both on the spot in the best way," Poehler said.
"You heard what I said?" Hargitay asked.
"Yes!" Poehler told her.
"And I said, 'You love her,'" Hargitay recalled.
"Yes, you were so nice," Poehler said, adding that it was sweet that while she sang high praises of Hargitay behind closed doors, Hargitay had returned the favor behind Poehler's back, as well.
"That is so sweet, very healing," Poehler said. "Thank you."
"By the way, is there anything better than that?" Hargitay asked. "Than having somebody have your back?"
"No, there's nothing better," Poehler agreed. "There's just nothing."
"I was talking to my sisters this morning all about it," Hargitay explained. "It's everything to me."
"Well, Meloni's got your back," Poehler told Hargitay, which came as no surprise to the SVU star.
You can watch a recap of the FaceTime convo, here.
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Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC and next day on Peacock.
