Law & Order: SVU to tackle the aftermath of the George Floyd police brutality protests

ETonline

Showrunner Warren Leight tells The Hollywood Reporter's TV's Top 5 podcast that Floyd's death “has to come up and it will" next season, according to ET. Leight says Season 22 will reflect the aftermath of the recent police brutality protests. “There are ways, we will find our way in to tell the story," he says. "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." Leight adds that he expects other police shows to change as well. "Change will start taking place on TV shows individually," he says. "There will be lip service paid." Leight also notes that he has made “a conscious effort to bring in new voices, fresh voices, different voices" for Season 22, including people of color. Leight says SVU has “tried really hard in the last year to show how class and race affect the outcomes of justice in society, but I'm beginning to suspect ‘really hard’ wasn't enough. This has to be a moment where people make themselves uncomfortable, where people in power have to make themselves uncomfortable.” Leight also says SVU will address the coroanvirus pandemic. “We’re going to reflect New York in the pandemic,” he says. “What happens to someone who is sexually assaulted during the height of the coronavirus outbreak.”