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'Law & Order SVU' Season 22 Premiere: Were George Floyd and Breonna Taylor names used only for 'entertainment'?

The show depicted the systemic racism that persists in the police department, but some fans felt the names of Breonna and Floyd were used just for entertainment purposes

Spoilers for 'Law & Order SVU' Season 22 Episode 1: ‘Guardians and Gladiators’

The longest scripted crime drama ‘Law and Order: SVU’ has returned for its 22nd season amid rumors that it might profile in racism and police brutality. This comes after the killing of Black man George Floyd and several other individuals sparked a nationwide fury over the insensitivity of cops. Now the issue of racism and names of individuals like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor who were victims of police brutality has found a reference in episode one of ‘Law And Order: SVU’s latest season.

Episode 1, ‘Guardians and Gladiators’, did not lionize cops and detectives. In fact, it showed how even their morality and decisions are questionable as heralded by Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) who plays NYPD’s top detective on special crimes. The show depicted how a Black man named Jawon was arrested wrongly by the elite NYPD squad led by Olivia after a White woman casually complains against him without any proof of a crime committed by the man. It is later found that the woman has a history of making false accusations.

Meanwhile, Olivia is called to Internal Affairs for her questioning about the incident. She is asked about a stop and frisk incident. The questioning reveals that Olivia and her partners at NYPD had stopped multiple Black men and Jawon was one of them. The questioning puts Olivia under the scanner over racism when an IA officer points out that while Olivia asked to run Jawon's name in the system while she did not do the same for the white woman who called the police. Deputy Chief Christian Garland (Demore Barnes) tells Olivia and Fin (Ice-T), who are defending themselves, that they sound defensive and that "by the book" will not cut it because that's what got them here, namedropping George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The show depicts the systemic racism that persists in the police department.

No sooner than the people saw the show focussing on racial injustice, police brutality, and general resentment on these issues, reactions started pouring in on Twitter. Fans of the show had not expected it and eventually liked that the show emphasized the complex reality of the present time. However, a certain section of fans felt the names of Breonna and Floyd were dropped just for entertainment purposes and were not needed.

A user wrote, “I can’t tell if this storyline name dropping George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the country’s distrust in the police is a force or needed #SVU.” Another said using of Black names for entertainment, “ewww not law and order SVU hopping on the bandwagon and using Breonna Taylor and George Floyd’s names in their show, of course for entertainment purposes. FUCKING STOP USING THEIR NAMES FOR UR SHIT SHOW.” “Ok this ep, 22.01...at end of the day if this doesn’t translate to actual scenes 4 remainders of the series, where viewers see an actual shift in their policing on screen, then this episode only capitalizes off of black pain all while centering a white woman. #SVU,” commented another.

A user wrote about what he felt good about the social reality depicted in show, “This new episode of law and order SVU has given me life! The police controversy, Karens calling cops on black men, Covid, face masks, social distancing, and facing police biases has given me all the feels! #SVU22.” Another said the show had key names of Black people which made it meaningful, “They named Breona Taylor and George Floyd in law and order svu! I’m here for it!!!” A user wrote in praise, “SVU not shying away from talking about systematic racism is content I like to see. They just having these powerful things discussed and talked and detailed is outstanding well done.”

'Law & Order: SVU' Season 22 premiered on NBC on Thursday, November 12, at 9/8c.