'Law & Order SVU' Harvey Weinstein Scandal Episode Details Revealed
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (SVU) is tackling the Harvey Weinstein scandal in an upcoming episode. The NBC drama, however, will pull its own spin on the controversy.
Executive producer Michael Chernuchin confirms the episode but the decision comes as no surprise. Most stories on "Law & Order SVU" are inspired by real life. The show prides itself on ripping the headlines that provide a commentary on real events.
"We are hitting Harvey Weinstein head-on, but it's not in the realm of the entertainment business," Chernuchin said. "It's a real important episode about the rape culture in an industry, and we wanted to try stretch the law to criminalize that sort of environment."
The special "Law & Order SVU" episode will take place in the airline industry. Chernuchin revealed that they had initial ideas for this story before the Weinstein scandal broke.
"We were actually working on a story about airline pilots and what a boys club that is," the executive producer detailed. "We were beating the story out and said, 'Wow, this is exactly what the actresses go through in Hollywood. It's the same environment.'"
"Law & Order SVU" will air the sexual harassment scandal episode sometime in early 2018.
Meanwhile, the episode airing Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 9:00 p.m. EST, titled "Something Happened," will feature Melora Walters as the rape victim. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) will be the key to her case but the officer will have to disclose some details about her past in order to get to the bottom of what really happened.
The next episode airing Wednesday, Dec. 6, will feature Brook Shields as a guest star. The case of the week involves a hoax about a social media personality.
"Law & Order SVU" will air one more episode in December before it goes on a hiatus for the holidays. The show will be back with new episodes after the Winter Olympics in March.