His two best known characters are on opposite sides of the law. On "Oz," he played Chris Keller, a bisexual, perverted serial killer who terrorizes his fellow prisoners. On "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" he plays Elliot Stabler, a sex-crimes cop so protective of his family and so intense in his hatred of criminals like Keller that he fantasizes about "getting away" with killing them. Ironically, Meloni's acting background is mainly in comedy.
Ike Graham is a New York newspaper columnist with a problem - his deadline is an hour away, his ex-wife is his boss and his writer's block is working overtime. Retreating to his favorite watering hole to "brainstorm," Ike hears about a young woman in rural Maryland named Maggie who, apparently, loves being engaged, but who has very cold feet about getting married. Intrigued, Ike composes a column about Maggie, beginning a chain of events which leads him to Hale, Maryland, her hometown. Maggie Carpenter also has a problem - Ike Graham. Furious with the column and its author, she plans to even the score with him. Ike eventually discovers there is much more to Maggie than just a problem with commitment; and he ends up with the story of a lifetime.
