TheLaw & Orderfranchise may be just as popular as ever with three ongoing shows currently on the air, butJohn Oliveris not a fan. On Sunday night’s edition ofLast Week Tonight, Oliver took aim atDick Wolfand theLaw & Orderfranchise due to the way its shows depicts police officers. According to Oliver, the way the fictional characters behave, along with how certain police procedures are portrayed, have had a dangerous effect on reality by creating misconceptions about police work for viewers.
Oliver argues thatLaw & Ordersells “a complete fantasy that too many people in this country are only too willing to buy.” He said it would be “dangerous” for a medical show likeGrey’s Anatomyto depict inaccuracies about vaccines and says that whatLaw & Orderis doing with police work is the equivalent. Oliver uses clips from the shows, including some of Elliot Stabler’s most brutal moments, to suggest thatLaw & Orderpromotes police brutality. He clarifies that this might make for good television, but the problem is that it’s not a reflection of reality, though many viewers take it that way.
Additionally, Oliver slams the creative decision to present police officers inLaw & Orderas bona fide heroes whose arrests are mostly for middle-aged white men. Oliver showcases a quote from creator Dick Wolf that acknowledges how most of the culprits revealed inLaw & Ordershows skew that way because he doesn’t want to offend any specific focus groups, and there are none for rich white guys. For Oliver, he doesn’t like how this ignores the reality.
“you’re able to see why he might not want to make a show in which his good guy cops are disproportionately targeting communities of color; he wants people to like them. But the result of all of these creative decisions is that instead of depicting a flawed system riddled with structural racism, the show presents exceptionally competent cops working within a largely fair framework that mostly convicts white people. While it is true that they have occasionally done episodes focusing on individual bad cops or referenced real world criticisms, especially recently with discussions of anti-police sentiment sometimes being shoehorned into conversations, in general, police reforms are often portrayed by the main characters as, at best, a nuisance to them, and at worst, a threat to public safety.”
Related:Where Does Organized Crime Stand in The Law & Order Franchise?
Law & Order: SVU Does Not Accurately Represent the Conviction Rate for Sex Offenders
John Oliver also spoke about how every episode ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitfeatures Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson securing a conviction for a sexual offender. Oliver agrees that it’s better for television show episodes to be structured this way, but says this is far off from how things are in reality. TheLast Week Tonighthost points to the NYPD’s figure that only 31% of all sexual assault cases end in convictions. He admits that Benson could serve as a positive role model for real-life police officers but still finds it troubling thatSVUallowed her old partner to get physical with suspects while being treated as a hero.
“Is it any wonder that some cops are watching SVU for tips? Which, honestly, may not be a bad thing when you get “Justice Crusader Olivia Benson,” but it gets a little hairy when “use of excessive force for Zaddy” [Elliot Stabler] here… I know it’s meant to be entertainment, and honestly, I’m not even telling you not to watch it. It’s completely fine to enjoy it. And it’s completely understandable to want Olivia Benson to exist. But, it is important to remember just how far it is from representing anything resembling reality.”
you’re able to watch the full segment aboutLaw & Orderin the YouTube video below, and you can find the full episode ofLast Week Tonight with John Oliverstreaming on HBO Max.
