'Law and Order: SVU' Season 15 Spoilers: Alec Baldwin 'Throws Hand Grenade' In New Case [VIDEO]
The next episode of Law & Order: SVU will feature Alec Baldwin's return to television in an episode directed by star Mariska Hargitay.
Baldwin is set to play Jimmy "Mac" McArthur, a newspaper journalist who SVU producer Warren Leight tells E! Online is "like the last of a dying breed." Leight describes the character as larger than life, similar to the way Baldwin leads his life.
The central case for the next episode of Law & Order: SVU involves a rape in Central Park South that appears, at first, to be a hate crime. The rape victim is an Indian Islamic woman, played by Summer Bishil. Jimmy Mac comes in and announces that the whole crime is a hoax possibly made up by the victim.
Jimmy Mac uses the fictional newspaper The New York Ledger to "throw a hand grenade into the case," says Leight.
Leight said that getting Baldwin to play Jimmy Mac wasn't actually planned beforehand, but praised the actor and his ability in the part.
"He's awfully believable as a hard-hitting Irish columnist. We called him about it and I got about 20 words into the character description and he goes, 'I optioned a book about a couple of these guys once. I wanted to play [real-life columnist] Mike McAlary in a movie...' We had what we thought was the right part for him and it turns out he had wanted to play a New York City columnist for two decades."
This episode is the directorial debut of Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson on the show. Titled Criminal Stories, the episode airs Wednesday, March 19 at 9 p.m.
Law & Order: SVU season 15 airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.
Watch the promo for the next episode of Law & Order: SVU below:
