(AllHipHop News) Reality television shows such as Cops and Live PD have been canceled in response to the global Black Lives Matter movement against law enforcement violence and systemic racism. One police-focused scripted show is apparently still ready to air its 22nd season.
NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is preparing to once again rip stories straight from the headlines by presenting an episode addressing police brutality. Executive producer Warren 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.”
Tracy “Ice-T” Marrow plays one of those fictional officers – Odafin “Fin” Tutuola – on SVU. Ice-T spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the crime drama deciding to tackle the topic of police brutality following the death of George Floyd. The 46-year-old black man was killed by Derek Chauvin after the then-Minneapolis cop held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
“That’s what the writers are going to do. I think if they’re touched by this, it’s going to show up in their writing,” said Ice-T. The veteran emcee later added, “As actors and actresses, we have to address it.”
The Law & Order: SVU season 17 episode titled “Community Policing” centered around New York Police Department officers killing an innocent, unarmed black man. The incident causes racial tension in the city as Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba (Raúl Esparza) clashes with the NYPD over possibly indicting the cops involved in the shooting.
Besides appearing on SVU for over 20 years, Ice-T also recently starred in and produced Equal Standard. The Brendan Kyle Cochrane-directed movie about an off-duty cop getting shot also features Naughty By Nature’s Anthony “Treach” Criss and Onyx’s Fredro Starr.