Update: Donald Trump Inspired Episode Pushed, Eyes 2017 Airdate
Law & Order: SVU’s Donald Trump-ian episode, “Unstoppable” has proven all but. It will not air next Wednesday, Nov. 16, as previously announced. The scheduling change actually happened a couple of days before the Nov. 8 election where Trump pulled off a stunning victory. It was triggered by the last-minute pre-emption NBC made for its Wednesday lineup last week when the network replaced originals of Blindspot, SVU and Chicago PD with repeats going against Game 7 of the World Series on Fox.
The preempted original episodes of the three dramas will instead air tonight. According to the program listings that NBC released on Nov.7, the day before the election, next Wednesday, Nov. 16, NBC has scheduled a new Blindspot going into a two-hour Chicago PD, with Unstoppable out. There are no more original SVU episodes scheduled though January 4, with specials taking over the night on Nov. 23 and 30, so Unstoppable would not air until 2017.
While the episode had undergone close scrutiny at NBC before, during and after production, sources indicate that there is no change in the network’s plan to air it, even with Trump as President-elect. When will that happen is still TBD. Early January may not be a very suitable time frame as it is on the eve of Trump’s inauguration.
As for the decision to go with a double Chicago PD on Nov. 16, I hear it came because the two episodes of the drama had to air before a planned crossover with the other Chicago shows in early January. They also were deemed a good fit as a two-hour episode.
The preempted original episodes of the three dramas will instead air tonight. According to the program listings that NBC released on Nov.7, the day before the election, next Wednesday, Nov. 16, NBC has scheduled a new Blindspot going into a two-hour Chicago PD, with Unstoppable out. There are no more original SVU episodes scheduled though January 4, with specials taking over the night on Nov. 23 and 30, so Unstoppable would not air until 2017.
While the episode had undergone close scrutiny at NBC before, during and after production, sources indicate that there is no change in the network’s plan to air it, even with Trump as President-elect. When will that happen is still TBD. Early January may not be a very suitable time frame as it is on the eve of Trump’s inauguration.
As for the decision to go with a double Chicago PD on Nov. 16, I hear it came because the two episodes of the drama had to air before a planned crossover with the other Chicago shows in early January. They also were deemed a good fit as a two-hour episode.
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NBC Pulls Donald Trump Inspired Episode Until After Election
Thanks to Alex for the heads up.
NBC has reversed course and benched a planned Donald Trump-inspired episode of “Law & Order: SVU” until after the election.
Sources said NBC brass made the decision Friday afternoon amid the extraordinary atmosphere of at least four women coming forward with stories of groping or sexual assault against the Republican nominee for president. Trump has steadfastly denied each of the women’s accounts, accusing them of lying as part of a politically motivated effort to smear him in the final weeks of the fractious presidential race.
“Unstoppable” features a Donald Trump-esque character running for president who gets tangled up in a sordid case when several women come forward with damaging accusations. There are other elements of the storyline that make the episode extremely touchy to air in the current climate.
NBC declined to comment.
NBC has been thrust into the thick of Trump’s campaign through the Oct. 7 revelation of a 2005 audio outtakes from a 2005 “Access Hollywood” segment that captured Trump making lewd comments about women and bragging about using his celebrity to force himself on women. That recording sparked outrage nationwide and defections of numerous GOP leaders from supporting his candidacy.
But NBC sources insist the decision to bench “Unstoppable” was motivated by the charges and countercharges flying during the past two days. Attorney Gloria Allred held a news conference Friday with a former contestant of Trump’s NBC reality show “The Apprentice” who asserts that he tried to force himself on her during a dinner meeting in 2007.
Two other women went on record with the New York Times about stories of aggressive groping incidents earlier this week. A veteran entertainment writer went on record with a first-person account for People magazine about being kissed without consent and harassed by Trump during an interview in 2005.
“Unstoppable” was written months ago and completed production more than a month ago, long before the sexual assault allegations against Trump began to steamroll. But the episode has been a hot potato for NBC from the start.
Gary Cole stars as a character described by a source as a wealthy and boorish man who makes a run for the White House. Aspects of the story were said to be inspired by the civil lawsuit pending in federal court in New York against Trump by a woman who alleges he raped her when she was 13 in the mid-1990s. Trump’s attorneys have vehemently died the allegations by the woman identified in court documents as Jane Doe.
“Unstoppable,” penned by “SVU” veteran Julie Martin and showrunner Rick Eid, has been highly scrutinized internally at Wolf Entertainment, home of “SVU,” and by NBC brass. Sources said the episode was envisioned by the writing team as airing as the second installment of the “SVU’s” 18th season, which opened Sept. 21.
Sources said NBC brass made the decision Friday afternoon amid the extraordinary atmosphere of at least four women coming forward with stories of groping or sexual assault against the Republican nominee for president. Trump has steadfastly denied each of the women’s accounts, accusing them of lying as part of a politically motivated effort to smear him in the final weeks of the fractious presidential race.
“Unstoppable” features a Donald Trump-esque character running for president who gets tangled up in a sordid case when several women come forward with damaging accusations. There are other elements of the storyline that make the episode extremely touchy to air in the current climate.
NBC declined to comment.
NBC has been thrust into the thick of Trump’s campaign through the Oct. 7 revelation of a 2005 audio outtakes from a 2005 “Access Hollywood” segment that captured Trump making lewd comments about women and bragging about using his celebrity to force himself on women. That recording sparked outrage nationwide and defections of numerous GOP leaders from supporting his candidacy.
But NBC sources insist the decision to bench “Unstoppable” was motivated by the charges and countercharges flying during the past two days. Attorney Gloria Allred held a news conference Friday with a former contestant of Trump’s NBC reality show “The Apprentice” who asserts that he tried to force himself on her during a dinner meeting in 2007.
Two other women went on record with the New York Times about stories of aggressive groping incidents earlier this week. A veteran entertainment writer went on record with a first-person account for People magazine about being kissed without consent and harassed by Trump during an interview in 2005.
“Unstoppable” was written months ago and completed production more than a month ago, long before the sexual assault allegations against Trump began to steamroll. But the episode has been a hot potato for NBC from the start.
Gary Cole stars as a character described by a source as a wealthy and boorish man who makes a run for the White House. Aspects of the story were said to be inspired by the civil lawsuit pending in federal court in New York against Trump by a woman who alleges he raped her when she was 13 in the mid-1990s. Trump’s attorneys have vehemently died the allegations by the woman identified in court documents as Jane Doe.
“Unstoppable,” penned by “SVU” veteran Julie Martin and showrunner Rick Eid, has been highly scrutinized internally at Wolf Entertainment, home of “SVU,” and by NBC brass. Sources said the episode was envisioned by the writing team as airing as the second installment of the “SVU’s” 18th season, which opened Sept. 21.
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