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‘Law & Order: SVU’ election-themed episode to center on ‘haywire’ campaign

Posted at 2:26 PM, Oct 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-12 14:26:45-04

Here’s a story that might sound familiar: A politician’s election campaign goes off the rails after the candidate’s troublesome treatment of women in the past comes to light.

Draw your own conclusions. But for the purposes of fiction, it’s a story that will soon be told on NBC’s long-running procedural “Law & Order: SVU.”

The show, a drama known for borrowing from headlines for its stories, is taking on the election with an episode called “Unstoppable.”

Gary Cole (“Veep”) will play the fictional politician in question — one NBC won’t outright say was inspired by any particular political figure.

Cole’s character finds himself on the defense after “several women go public with damaging accusations” that cause his campaign to go “haywire,” according to a brief plot description.

The episode airs October 26.

The announcement of the episode comes less than a week after a leaked tape showed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump having a lewd conversation with “Today” show personality Billy Bush.

Trump has brushed off his comments in the video as “locker room talk,” much to the ire of real-life athletes.

Bush has been suspended from his role on the morning show and is in negotiations to exit.

So far this season, “Law & Order: SVU” has done episodes inspired by the San Bernadino shooting and the Steven Avery case.

Vice president Joe Biden had a cameo in the September season premiere of “SVU” to address the country’s growing backlog of rape kits.