If you've been wanting to see more of Christopher Meloni on your television screens, congratulations: You could soon be seeing a lot more of him. According to TVLine, Meloni's eyeing a major role in the upcoming fifth season of HBO's 'True Blood.' How great is that?!

If Meloni does join 'True Blood' it would the first foray into television work for the 'Oz' veteran since he abruptly quit 'Law & Order: SVU' earlier this year. He's reportedly currently filming his role as Colonel Hardy in the Zack Snyder/Christopher Nolan 'Superman' movie reboot, 'Man of Steel.'

It's thought that Meloni is pondering a role as an "incredibly powerful vampire." But who? The 'True Blood' fan sites and Twitter have exploded with speculation, so check out some theories after the jump. But be warned, there may be SPOILERS ahead ...

The tides of change are sweeping in on the thirteenth season premiere of 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' (Wed., 10PM ET on NBC). After twelve seasons on the top-rated show, Christopher Meloni won't be a part of the show after contract negotiations failed, while Mariska Hargitay is reducing her workload.

In the season premiere, we learned that Det. Stabler has put in his retirement papers. And since Meloni wasn't available to be in the show, Det. Benson had to learn this second-hand. While publicly she appeared to take it pretty well, she had a breakdown in private.

Now it's going to be the show's task to reinvigorate the show with a different energy and some new faces without the face of one of its biggest stars. Why does that sound familiar?

It's been a confusing time for fans of 'Law & Order: SVU' over the last few months. First, veteran showrunner Neal Baer stepped down, and then came news of star Christopher Meloni's surprise exit.

After producers hired not one, but two, new actors for lead roles in the wake of Meloni's departure, worried fans have been left to question the fate of Mariska Hargitay and her character, Det. Olivia Benson.

Now producers have acted to reassure fans, telling 'Entertainment Weekly' that the new additions to the cast do not pose a threat to Hargitay, and that she will continue to play a marquee role in the 'Law & Order' franchise when it returns in the fall.

A NBC spokesman said that Hargitay will appear in every episode of the upcoming Season 13 even though Kelly Giddish ('The Chase') and Danny Pino ('Cold Case') have joined the cast.

It's only been a month since Christopher Meloni stepped down from 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,' but producers are reportedly screen-testing his possible replacements in New York today.

Production on the upcoming Season 13 is due to get underway soon and, according to Deadline.com, 'SVU' creator/executive producer Dick Wolf and NBC have narrowed the field to a short list of five.

The actors, who have all doubtless just spent a sleepless night in the Big Apple rehearsing their lines, have been named as: Danny Pino ('Cold Case'), Kevin Alejandro ('True Blood,' 'Southland'), David Conrad ('Ghost Whisperer'), Michael Raymond-James ('Terriers') and Rhys Coiro ('Entourage').

Each one will test today with Meloni's co-star, Mariska Hargitay, who plays Det. Olivia Benson on the drama. Both Alejandro and Raymond-James recently guest-starred on 'SVU,' so could be feeling like they've got the edge.

On 'Law & Order: SVU' (Wed., 10PM ET on NBC), the team goes undercover to solve a murder that took place in a slaughterhouse. But things start to go badly almost right away. First of all, the slaughterhouse is disgusting -- filled with cockroaches and rat droppings. Still, that isn't the worst part.

Watch the video after the jump.

In an earlier item on S. Epatha Merkerson leaving 'Law & Order' I mentioned how it takes the departure of a long term cast member to draw the attention of fans and viewers. Well, the other thing that snaps those same folks to attention is the crossover of a character from one 'Law & Order' show to another. That's because these people have rarely made appearances in other members of the franchise in the 250 years its been on television.

In this instance, Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy will be appearing on an episode of 'Law & Order: SVU.' Now, while Waterston has appeared on the show twice before in his office, this will be the very first time that District Attorney McCoy will show up in the SVU squad room. It will also be the first time that Waterston works with actor Christopher Meloni. It'll be interesting to see how these two characters react to each other.

This "very special episode" of 'Law & Order: SVU' premieres on April 28th with special guest star Sharon Stone.

Rest easy, 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' fans. Despite a story published on Friday (and later yanked offline) in Australia's Courier-Mail newspaper, Christopher Meloni is not quitting his day job as Det. Elliot Stabler on 'SVU.' At least, that's what his boss says.

'SVU' executive producer Neal Baer debunked the rumor in a tweet. Asked by a fan if the story about Meloni's departure was true, Baer simply replied, "No." To another fan's similar question, he replied, "Don't believe everything you read in the papers!"

The original article purportedly quoted Meloni as saying that he'd be leaving the show at the end of the 2010-11 season to focus on theater and film, and that he felt 12 years on the show would be enough. It also purportedly quoted his TV partner Mariska Hargitay as saying she hoped Stabler doesn't get written off the show by being killed because that would devastate her character, Det. Olivia Benson.

Things haven't really been going very well on NBC, and now here's another kick in the shins. Actor Christopher Meloni is talking about leaving 'Law and Order: SVU' at the end of this season. That's right. No more New York detective Elliot Stabler. What's going on and why?

Well, after a dozen years pounding the pavement and fighting the good fight as Elliot, Meloni is interested in doing something else with his career. In an interview Down Under with the Australian Courier-Mail, Meloni said, "I think 12 years is enough." Eight is enough, yes, but twelve?

Anyway, Chris goes on to say that he has interest in doing film projects and returning to the theater. As for the future of Elliot on 'Law and Order: SVU,' Meloni believes he's giving the writers plenty of time to work out a satisfactory exit. He said, "The writers will have fertile ground to figure out how to arc [his way] out to another place, whether it's this world or the next."

More of our best of the decade coverage, which started on Tuesday. You can read the other posts at the link above. Here, we talk about the best dramatic actors of the decade. And, boy, was it a tough choice.

From a meth-making chemistry teacher to a damaged 1960s ad exec, the guys populating the dramatic actor category in our best of the decade are nothing short of brilliant.

It's hard to choose favorites when you're dealing with the likes of Jon Hamm, Bryan Cranston, Mark Harmon, James Gandolfini, and many others, but the TV Squad team has spoken.

Did your favorites make our list? If not, feel free to add them in the comments below.

More good news out of NBC's top drama. Wentworth Miller is guesting on Law and Order: SVU, and this time he's not going to be behind bars. The Prison Break actor will star in the September 23 premiere of Law and Order: SVU, which is kicking off its 11th season on the NBC.

Wentworth Miller's casting comes on the heels of NBC re-signing of Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni to two-year extensions as the show's mainstays, Detectives Benson and Stabler, as well as the return of Stephanie March as Alex Cabot and a four-show arc for Christine Lahti. I'd say that the powers-that-be are stacking the deck with prime talent to make sure Law and Order: SVU maintains its top quality status.

Well, that's a relief. After months of speculation that NBC would be bringing Law & Order: SVU back for the 11th season without the two stars that have anchored the show, there's good news. Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have re-signed with SVU. They pair agreed to stick with NBC's top-rated Neilsen drama for two more seasons.

Good news is probably an understatement. It's really great news because with SVU moving to Wednesday, 9 p.m., the show really didn't need to shake up the cast at this point in time. Stability mattered and NBC found a way to bring the two stars into the fold, offering them both the flexibility they sought.

Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni sign a two-year deal with 'SVU,' Drea de Matteo moves in to Wisteria Lane, Disney crows a new 'Princess' and more TV news.

'Law & Order: SVU' may be in search of two new stars.

NBC is threatening to replace Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni on its No. 1 scripted series because the two leads are demanding back-end profits in addition to their $350K-per-episode salaries. Are the stars or the network the victims here? Debate.

In other news, 'Fringe' is beaming up 'Star Trek' vet Leonard Nimoy for a pivotal arc that will span this season and next, and the final episodes of 'Pushing Daisies' and some other canceled ABC faves will (finally!) hit the boob tube.

See more of today's TV headlines, casting scoops and premiere dates after the jump.

This doesn't come as a surprise, does it? NBC has ordered an 11th season of Law & Order: SVU. It isn't a surprise because of all the shows on NBC's roster – not including ER, which just had a celebrated swan song – are struggling in the ratings. Law & Order SVU is the lone exception, still drawing nearly 10 million viewers and at least keeping NBC challenging in the Tuesday night ratings.

It's not as strong as it once was, but what show is on NBC? It would have been network hari-kari to let SVU hit the road.

Hunks are in the eye of the beholder apparently. When I read -- drooled -- over the hunks chosen as the 50 Hottest Hunks Ever by our friends at AOL (that's a long time), I couldn't help but wonder about the guys that just missed the cut. I made a list. It was longer than the dozen men listed here, but these were the ones that I wanted included because they make my toes tingle.

Unlike Debra -- nice choices, Deb -- I've refrained from putting pictures of these hunks on my walls, but I sure have followed them from show to show, enjoying every moment when they were forced to take off their shirts or flex their muscles.

Bruce Campbell
Oh, Bruce! He is such a hunk. Remember The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.? He was the epitome of the western hero, looking great in black with a cowboy hat, on a horse. And that killer smile. Now, on Burn Notice, he's sort of an older hunk with the great Tommy Bahama shirts and perpetual five o'clock shadow, but still great looking. And since I was fortunate enough to meet him -- on a set visit -- I can tell you that he's a really an eyeful up close. I'd love to be in his arms any time!