Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Joyful Heart FoundationLaw & Order: SVU is getting a visit from the veep. Yes, Vice President Joe Biden will appear as himself in an upcoming episode of the long-running NBC police drama. E! News has confirmed Biden will appear in a scene with several series regulars praising Mariska Hargitay's Lieutenant Olivia Benson for her work to end the rape kit backlog. Kelli Giddish, Ice-T and Peter Scanavino are also in the scene with Biden and Hargitay, filming Friday, July 29 in New York.
This mirrors real life. Hargitay and Biden have worked together to end the real-life rape kit backlog and end domestic violence. Biden and Hargitay previously partnered on numerous occasions, including for PSAs for Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation and its No More campaign to end domestic violence and sexual assault. In 2016 Hargitay presented Biden with the Finnegan Award at her Joyful Heart Foundation gala. Hargitay recently voiced the taped package that introduced Biden at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
SVU is locked down today.. The Vice President is here with about 40 of his crew... They don't play. pic.twitter.com/Q0ptgXOZyz
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) July 29, 2016
Biden previously played himself on Parks and Recreation where he met his biggest fan, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott). Does this mean Parks and Creation are set in the same world? We can only hope…
Law & Order: SVU returns for its 18th season in September. The series will feature an episode that mirrors the story of Steven Avery of Making a Murderer fame. E! News spoke with Hargitay on set of the season 17 finale and she reflected on the impact the show has had on her life, something she never expected when she first put on the badge.
Joe is in the Building.... SVU. pic.twitter.com/ZAd4CyWFb1
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) July 29, 2016
"No, never in a million years and I'll tell you, that's truly why I'm still here. My heart—I just was actually emailing with Dick [Wolf] today—because my heart is so in it and I am so committed, not only because of the show, but I feel so grateful to be an actor and doing every single day what I love to do. So I feel grateful in that, but also, obviously, how the show has changed lives and how it's inspired me to start Joyful Heart. And each year the way I see the society truly changing," she said. "I really think that things are shifting and awareness is shifting...That sort of reinvests me and reinvigorates me.
"It's a very powerful show that is dealing with such important and real, current issues that are potentially life-saving. So I don't know if it gets better than that," she said with a laugh. "Right? Now the Foundation and the show have such a beautiful marriage. They completely support each other and it's been so important telling these stories and then continuing the work in real life with our advocacy and changing laws, changing societal attitudes and hopefully cleaning up the rape kit backlog."
Law & Order: SVU premieres Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. on NBC.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)