Posted in: NBC, Opinion, Preview, TV, TV | Tagged: Benson, Christopher Meloni, donald trump, Law & Order, mariska hargitay, Matt Gaetz, opinion, stabler

Christopher Meloni Putting Out "Law & Order" APB on GOP Rep Matt Gaetz

If you're a fan of NBC's "Law & Order," then you already know why this is a big week. Yup, this Thursday offers us a first as all three Dick Wolf dramas come together for a special three-hour, three-episode crossover event that sees all three teams tackling an epic case. So between now and then, expect us to be sharing a ton of previews, featurettes, interviews, and more to help set the mood for Thursday. But to kick things off, we're focusing on one of the non-"Law & Order" things about "Organized Crime" star Christopher Meloni that we love. No, we're not talking about his numerous twisted turns into comedy or how he has eternal rockstar status for having starred in Happy! Nope, this is all about how open & honest Meloni is on social media when it comes to views on the current state of affairs. In particular, his loathing of anything and everything having to do with Donald Trump and the boot-licking lackeys who gravitate around Trump. Take a second and get a vision of a pile of sh*t with flies around it in your head. There you go. But Meloni had one fly, in particular, in his sites: GOP House rep & walking embodiment of every big bad in every early John Cusack movie ever (One Crazy Summer, Better Off Dead, etc.), Matt Gaetz.

So "Captain Florida" is still under investigation to see if he violated any federal sex trafficking laws (way too sordid to get into right now, but some background if you're interested here) involving a young woman who was underage (accusations that Gaetz denies). And then we learned that Trump's director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, John McEntee, testified before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th domestic terrorist attack on Washington D.C. that Gaetz was seeking a preemptive pardon from Trump to cover anything that might come down from the Department of Justice. Well, you can imagine how this could be a serious problem for Gaetz, yet not serious enough of a problem for him to realize (or care) about the optics of attending a "Texas Youth Summit" In fact, it was so bad that an individual on Twitter decided to "tweet tip" Meloni that something was going down, and this Meloni's Elliot Stabler and Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson should be out there taking names and making arrests. But don't you worry, because Meloni wants you to know that they're "on it."

And the following clip doesn't exactly help Gaetz's case…

And just to be clear? This isn't even close to the first time that Meloni has called out Gaetz for… well… being Gaetz.

Set for this Thursday, September 22, from 8-11 p.m. ET/PT (and on Peacock the next day), the crossover begins on Organized Crime, continues through SVU, and then wraps up on the original series. Written by Rick Eid (Law & Order) & Gwen Sigan (Chicago P.D.), the three-hour event sees the first two hours directed by Law & Order vet Jean de Segonzac, with Alex Hall (The Deuce) directing the third hour. And while HBO's John Oliver may be watching something else that night, for those of you who will be checking it out then, we have an official trailer for you that offers an overview of why this case will require all of their best efforts.

Here's a look at the official trailer for this week's "Law & Order" Premiere Event, kicking off with an introduction from Hargitay:

In this "Law & Order" Premiere Event, a mysterious young girl is shot in cold blood and Det. Frank Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan) teams up with Det. Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks, first episode) to track down her killer. Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) are called in to help when they realize they have more than a typical homicide case on their hands. After uncovering key evidence, Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and ADA Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) seek justice against an international crime ring, but complications threaten the outcome of their case.

The storyline will evolve from a homicide into an investigation of a sex trafficking ring, and then into efforts to stop a potential terror event, and will formally introduce Mehcad Brooks to the Law & Order cast. "Unlike most crossovers that we see on network television that are handoffs — one show hands it off to the next show, and then the next show hands it off to the next show — this one is much more integrated, where all the characters are in every hour in an integrated, seamless way," Eid shared during an interview with EW to explain how the storyline flow will work. And while Eid joked when asked if he would attempt another crossover like this one again in the future, considering the amount of coordination required ("For the love of God, no"), it sounds like this won't be a one-and-done. "I think we're always going to be trying to do things that are a little out of the box that elevate our profile and bring more eyeballs to our shows. So you know, having said that, as I'm talking, it sounds like the answer is yes," Eid shared.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!