Since its debut in 1999, Law & Order: SVU has been known for boldly addressing social and political issues without holding back. The show hasn’t shied away from current and controversial problems, contributing to its success and relevance. However, when the writers decided to focus on a particularly sensitive political topic, things took an unexpected turn.
Law & Order SVU follows the fictional Special Victims Unit of the New York City Police Department, led by Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). Generally, the SVU team handles crimes involving victims of sexual assault or those requiring special attention, such as young children, the elderly, or the disabled.
The show also notably starred Christopher Meloni as Benson’s partner and lead detective Elliot Stabler until Meloni’s departure in 2011. Law & Order SVU has featured some notable names over the years, including Richard Belzer, BD Wong, and Ice-T, who is currently on the show. The procedural has provided audiences with tips and tricks (and probably some nightmares) for decades on how to deal with potential offenders.
Law & Order: SVU likes to base episodes on stories ripped from real news headlines, but one story, in particular, seems too controversial. Ice-T, who plays Odafin Tutuola on the show, doubts that an episode they made based on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign will ever air. The episode is called Unstoppable and stars Gary Cole as a scandal-ridden politician.
“There was a guy running for president, very Trump-like, and women were coming out of nowhere saying he was assaulting them.”
The Writers of Law & Order SVU Get Too Close to Real-Life Events to Enhance the Show’s Plot
The episode was meant to air, but since then NBC has delayed it three times, which happens to be the same network that airs The Celebrity Apprentice (Donald Trump is an executive producer of that show). Sometimes, the writers of Law & Order: SVU get too close to real-life events. This was the case when they wrote and filmed a complete episode around a politician dealing with a scandal, reflecting what was happening with a notable political figure at the time. Unlike others on this list, this episode never aired even once.
The impact of canceling this episode was felt on several levels. On one hand, it demonstrated the limitations and challenges content creators face when tackling sensitive political topics. On the other hand, it highlighted the influence of politics in the entertainment industry, showing how editorial decisions can be subject to external pressures.
