NBC Unveils New ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Special

If the upcoming new season of Law & Order: SVU is not enough for you, NBC has unveiled that there will be a brand new SVU special this fall. The network has announced The Paley Center Presents Law & Order: Before They Were Stars, which will be a look back at a number of stars who appeared on the police procedural before they became A-listers. The special is set to air on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 10 p.m. ET, and will follow the Season 22 premiere of Law & Order: SVU at 9 p.m.

Among the stars who will appear are This Is Us stars Ron Cephas Jones, Chris Sullivan and Susan Kelechi Watson. The special will also feature appearances by Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton), Ariel Winter (Modern Family), Abigail Breslin (Zombieland) and S. Epatha Merkerson (Chicago Med). Sopranos actors Michael Imperioli and Aida Turturro will also appear. In addition to the stars mentioned above, a few special guests with SVU credits on their resume, such as eight-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper, will also turn up.

Law & Order: SVU went back into production last month, after having to shut down in the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. Series co-star Ice-T later opened up about what precautions the cast and production crew are taking in order to keep themselves safe from the spread of the virus. After being asked by a Twitter user if they would all be wearing masks in the scenes, Ice-T replied, “Not actually wearing mask in full scenes, or you’d never see us talk. But you will sometimes see us remove them, and we are social distancing in this first episodes scenes.”

In June, series showrunner Warren Leight spoke with The Hollywood Reporter and confirmed that the new season of the show would tackled real-world topics like the pandemic and the widespread protests sparked by police brutality cases. “There are ways, we will find our way in to tell the story,” Leight stated. “Presumably our cops will still be trying to do the right thing but it’s going to be harder for them and they’re going to understand why it’s hard for them.”