‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 15, episode 18 preview: Alec Baldwin stars, Mariska Hargitay directs

It is pretty darn easy to figure out why next week’s all-new episode of “Law & Order: SVU” is going to be a big one. This is the episode directed by none other than star Mariska Hargitay, and it also features the first scripted TV appearance for Alec Baldwin since his time on “30 Rock.” While his antics have at times been the sort of stuff that are cumbersome in the press, we’ve never doubted his ability as an actor … and based on the footage that we have in the promo below, there is some good stuff coming up.

Baldwin is going to play a character in this episode who gets more access to the SVU than most do, and what happens here should surprise a good many. Since the synopsis below shares details of the story perfectly, we don’t want to be repetitive by spouting them off here. Take a look:

“Renowned New York Ledger columnist Jimmy MacArthur (Baldwin) is given full access to Sergeant Benson (Hargitay) and the squad for an inside look at the city’s Special Victims Unit. When the rape case of a young Muslim woman (guest star Summer Bishil) escalates to a hate crime, Jimmy stays one step ahead of the investigation and declares the entire crime a hoax. With the victim under fierce public scrutiny, Benson struggles to keep the case on solid ground and fears a rapist will go free.”

Who knows? By the end of this episode, we may have a much better opportunity to get to know whether or not there is some other motivation for Baldwin’s character; if not, then at least we have a notable guest star for an episode that should have a lot going on.

Photo: NBC