The episode of Law and Order: SVU inspired by “the law and order candidate” won’t see the light of day until after the 2016 presidential election, Variety reported.
An upcoming episode of the show, titled Unstoppable, is heavily inspired by the civil lawsuit pending against Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump, “by a woman who alleges she was raped by Trump when she was 13 in the mid 1990s,” Variety said. Trump and his attorneys have since denied these and similar allegations. After NBC confirmed the episode would air on Oct. 26, it is now changing the dates following controversy with the episode’s topicality given the political climate. NBC has not set a date for the new episode.
While it was reported by Variety that the episode would involve a “Donald Trump-esque character running for president who gets tangled up in a sordid case when several women come forward with damaging accusations,” NBC sources told the site that the episode had already been completed months before a video was released showing Trump bragging about his sexual exploits and harassment of women to now-suspended NBC employee, then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush.
NBC sources also told variety that the decision to push back the episode’s air date was made due to the ongoing accusations following the Access Hollywood tape, after NBC has come under fire “after reports emerged that it had been sitting on the Access Hollywood tape, and was considering not releasing it until it had removed footage of Bush.”
As for the episode itself, Unstoppable was written by SVU writer Julie Martin and showrunner Eick Eid. Gary Cole will play the Trump-inspired character, who NBC sources told Variety is a “wealthy and boorish man who makes a run for the White House.” Guest stars include Peter Gallagher, Currie Graham, Meredith Travers, and Bianca Amato.
