NBC's legal titans "Law & Order" and"Law & Order: SVU"kick off their new seasons on Thursday, Oct. 8, with cases seemingly ripped from some of the most troubling real-world headlines – tackling cases involving gang rape and consent, along with the growing threat of A.I.
"SVU" (9 p.m. ET/PT) delivers an especially timely story involving a woman who accuses three men of rape after visiting a male friend while intoxicated. The episode arrives amid a national outcry over the so-called "Cornell Seven," a group of seven former Cornell University fraternity members accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a female student in October 2024.
After no charges were filed against the male students, the woman, identified asJane Doe in court documents, filed a civil
lawsuit in September, alleging that she was assaulted at a fraternity house after consuming alcohol and drugs, including ketamine.
The renewed attention has prompted New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to appoint state Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations.
Despite many similarities, "Law & Order: SVU" showrunner Michele Fazekas tells USA TODAY over email that the episode was not inspired by recent events at Cornell University. Fazekas wasn't even aware of the allegations until they made recent national headlines.
"I wrote this episode in early July, and we shot it later that month," Fazekas said. "Like most of us, I wasn't aware of the Cornell story until the lawsuit hit national headlines in September of this year."
Instead, Fazekas drew inspiration from the legislative battle in New York over the legal definition of sexual consent. During the state's 2025-26 legislative session, lawmakers attempted to amend a rape law that does not expressly protect victims who become severely intoxicated voluntarily. The proposed legislation never reached a vote before the session ended. Under the existing law, Fazekas explained, intoxicated victims generally must be deemed "physically helpless," or have been intoxicated involuntarily.
"What we were tapping into was the general misconception that being voluntarily intoxicated – even severely intoxicated – does not affect one's ability to consent to sex," Fazekas said. "You can be extremely inebriated, and the law says you can still give consent. What does that mean if you're 'black out drunk'? What does that mean if you are being coerced by others, if you are unable to make informed decisions because of your level of intoxication?"
The fictional "SVU" case exposes a flawed real law. "I never try to convey a 'message' in scripts," Fazekas said. "I do want to present a complex issue and explore it, and see if there is a way for our heroes to fix it."
'SVU' Volition episode: What to expect
The episode, titled "Volition," features Mariska Hargitay's Capt. Olivia Benson using unorthodox legal maneuvers after the sexual assault victim struggles to prove her case in court amid questions of consent and intoxication. In the episode, Benson receives guidance from jury consultant Gwen Sharpe ("Succession" star J. Smith-Cameron), which ultimately threatens her partnership with Carisi (Peter Scanavino).
Hargitay has spoken out about the Cornell case, posting repeatedly on Instagram, including a postwith her Joyful Heart Foundation, the organization the actress formed to support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.
"Survivors deserve to be believed and kept informed. Silence protects no one. To her: we support you," the statement said.
'Law & Order' Season 26 premiere puts AI visionary on trial
The "Law & Order" Season 26 premiere, "Ghost in the Machine" (10 p.m. ET/PT), tackles another pressing real-world issue: the rapidly expanding power of artificial intelligence and the struggle to regulate it. The murder of a software engineer and AI critic compels District AttorneyNicholas Baxter (Tony Goldwyn)to pursue a groundbreaking legal case trying to rein in a technology advancing faster than the laws meant to govern it.
The powerful AI creator (Vincent Kartheiser of "Mad Men," bringing an Elon Musk-like vibe) is hauled into court to face charges after his out-of-control tech is found to have hired the hitman that carried out the murder.
The "Law & Order" premiere "asks whether our laws and institutions can adequately protect us from the potential moral and physical dangers of Artificial Intelligence. If AI commits a crime, can its creators be found liable?" wrote Peter Jankowski, president of Wolf Entertainment and executive producer of the "Law & Order" franchise, in a letter accompanying advance media screeners.
"Recent news surrounding both of these issues has sparked important conversations and reflection across our culture," Jankowski wrote of both premieres. "Although these shows are fictional, these episodes are classic examples of our 'ripped from the headlines' story-telling woven into a compelling moral mystery."
This weekend, "The Social Reckoning," Aaron Sorkin's follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2010 film "The Social Network," opens in theaters Oct. 9. The film stars Jeremy Strong as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Mikey Madison as whistleblower Frances Haugen and Jeremy Allen White as Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, whose reporting exposed troubling practices at the social media giant.
What time is 'SVU' on tonight? What about 'Law & Order'?
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, followed by "Law & Order" at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Both episodes can be streamed on Peacock beginning Friday, Oct. 9.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Law & Order: SVU' tackles gang rape in episode written months before Cornell 7 case
