Regulation & Order: SVU is rarely quick on depth with weekly doses of offenses which might be – to cite the present’s opening narration – “particularly heinous,” however the upcoming episode on February 27 within the 2025 TV schedule will showcase a extra proactive sufferer than traditional… for higher or worse. The Good Couple‘s Donna Lynne Champlin performs Megan for the brand new case dealing with Mariska Hargitay’s Benson, Ice-T’s Fin, and the remainder of the SVU forged. She spoke with CinemaBlend about filming the episode in addition to the way it paid off that she wasn’t a fan of the present beforehand.
The Loopy Ex-Girlfriend alum’s episode is known as “The Grid Plan,” and he or she performs a vacationer who’s attacked in Instances Sq. after which entails herself within the investigation to get solutions. Viewers should tune in to see how Benson and Co. react, however the Broadway actress and upcoming visitor star shared how excited she was to get the script, telling me:
Holy cow! It was a straight supply, which was simply so unbelievable. As a result of it is a native present, I hadn’t even learn the script, and I believed, ‘Oh, I am in all probability a lawyer or some visiting P.I. or one thing.’ And I regarded on the script and my character’s title is Megan, and it appeared like Megan is in each scene however two. I really referred to as my agent. I used to be like, ‘What is the title of my character once more? As a result of it isn’t Megan.’ [laughs] ‘Megan’s in each scene!’
This installment of SVU is not Donna Lynne Champlin’s first position within the bigger Regulation & Order franchise, however after her first efficiency on Regulation & Order was reduce from the completed product, it is no surprise she’s enthusiastic about getting such a meaty position on Mariska Hargitay’s sequence. The actress went on:
To my absolute pleasure, it is a barn burner, as we are saying. I am simply so thrilled as a result of as an actress, in theater I get to point out a wide array, however on movie and tv, I do not actually get to point out numerous vary. I do not get to make use of my muscle tissue, and this episode, it is like an Olympic sport. It is a lot enjoyable as an actor. It was thrilling to do, and I simply felt so drained on the finish of the day, however such an excellent drained.
One-off visitor stars do not at all times have full arcs in an episode of any present; that does not appear to be the case for Champlin as Megan on SVU. The actress after all did not spoil all the main points for what followers can anticipate on NBC on Thursday, February 27 at 9 p.m. ET (or streaming subsequent day with a Peacock subscription), however the promise of a “barn burner” definitely units the stage.
With SVU presently airing Season 26 and Mariska Hargitay starring in additional than 550 episodes and counting, had Donna Lynne Champlin watched the very long-running present earlier than working closely with the TV icon? I requested that very query, and he or she laughed earlier than sharing a really legitimate purpose for not tuning in:
I had not. I had by no means seen it. For me, possibly as a result of I dwell in New York, to look at these tales of crime and trauma within the metropolis that I dwell in, it is exhausting for me. So I admittedly had by no means seen an episode of it. In a manner, it was humorous, as a result of one of many sequence regulars caught me out. [laughs] And so they have been like, ‘You have by no means seen this present, have you ever?’ And I used to be like, ‘Oh my god, I have not! I am so sorry.’
Contemplating that Regulation & Order: SVU has spent greater than 1 / 4 century telling heinous crime tales set in New York Metropolis, I for one cannot blame anyone from NYC for not wanting to look at on a weekly foundation. And on this specific case, Champlin not being a fan going again to the pilot in 1999 paid off for her efficiency. She defined:
They have been like, ‘No, really, it is actually working in your favor, as a result of there is a particular episode story construction. And so they’re like, ‘You are doing issues that make whole sense, however that we have not seen folks do right here as a sufferer.’ And I used to be like, ‘Properly, do not inform me what it’s. In the event you inform me what it’s, it’s going to be ruined.’ [laughs] So I nonetheless don’t know what they’re speaking about, however I fessed up early on. It is not as a result of I have not heard it is an incredible present. It is simply, as a New Yorker, I attempt to preserve my trauma at a minimal.
Champlin, who additionally teased that her character shares some heavy scenes with Mariska Hargitay’s Benson, finally brings a brand new take to SVU because of her standing as a newcomer to the NBC hit. I can also’t in any respect blame her for not wanting to look at a present stuffed with crime and trauma set in her personal metropolis, and it seems that she discovered from an surprising supply simply how traumatic SVU can get. She recounted:
It is humorous. I used to be chatting with make-up and hair, who’re additionally phenomenal, by the best way. I do not actually get an opportunity to get make-up that is abrasions. I do not get to do this. That is the primary time I obtained arrested, the primary time that I had abrasion make-up, cry make-up. They’re magicians in make-up and hair, they usually have been speaking to me. They have been like, ‘You actually lucked out.’ I used to be like, ‘What are you speaking about?’ And so they’re like, ‘Properly, your assault, compared to different assaults, the best way it may be shot… You lucked out. Generally the present is much more graphic than what your episode is.’ And I used to be like, ‘Oh, alright. That is good to know.’ [laughs] They began telling me some storylines, and I used to be like, ‘Oh! I can see that I lucked out.’
Fortuitously, the wait to see Donna Lynne Champlin’s episode of SVU with a unique take than traditional on a sexual assault sufferer is sort of over. Tune in to NBC on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET to learn the way all of it goes down, following the newest episode of Regulation & Order Season 24. For one final tease, check out the promo for “The Grid Plan” tomorrow evening!
As at all times, you possibly can stream each episode of Regulation & Order: SVU so far with a subscription to Peacock, in addition to the most recent episodes on Fridays after they air dwell. Donna Lynne Champlin can be flexing some totally different appearing muscle tissue than have been wanted in Loopy Ex-Girlfriend‘s very totally different style, and he or she had nothing however good issues to say concerning the expertise. Examine again with CinemaBlend following “The Grid Plan” for extra from the visitor star!