Actress Lucy Liu is working behind the scenes of the upcoming episode of Law & Order: SVU season 20. She's taking the director's chair for the very first time in the series.
A clip from the social media fan account of Law and Order: SVU showed Liu and the crew at work on the set. The actress has directed a bunch of episodes of her old show, Elementary, but this is her first attempt at crafting an episode for a long-running series.
Liu also confirmed on her Twitter account that she directed an episode of Law and Order: SVU. She said she had the pleasure of working with Mariska Hargitay (as Det. Olivia Benson) and Shiri Appleby.
Appleby guest stars on Law & Order: SVU season 20 episode 19 as Kitty Bennet, as per the episode synopsis. The story will center on a woman who accuses her therapist of sexually violating her by crashing at his wedding. The show also features TJ Thyne (as Dr. Joshua Hensley), Garrett Turner (Bo Albrecht), Poppy Liu (Hannah Berkowitz) and Maureen Sebastian (Lana Stallworth).
This isn't the first guest stint for Appleby on Law & Order: SVU though. The actress also appeared in an episode in 2013 as the military officer, Amelia Ambers, a gang rape victim who bravely faced her attackers.
Meanwhile, Law & Order: SVU season 20 episode 18, which aired last Thursday, March 21, hinted that Benson's job might be on the line. There was a memo about her that never went past the desk of Chief Dodds (played by Peter Gallagher).
Fin (played by Ice-T) confirmed to Benson that the memo went out after the kidnapping of Noah. Worried, Benson asked Liv if her job is safe and Fin assured her that he's got her back.
For a while, rumors have circulated that Law & Order: SVU is preparing for Hargitay's exit. But speaking with E! News, Hargitay said that she has no plans of saying goodbye to this long-running cop drama just yet.
"All good things come when we're out of our comfort zone," Hargitay said. "I'm just trying to go a little bit deeper every day, and I'm not done yet, because there's still so much to mine."
NBC, however, has not yet given the series renewal for season 21 but Law & Order: SVU remains a solid performer on the network. The show also remains as relevant today as it was 20 years ago hence it will likely get another shot for next season.
