Sue Simmons to Make Acting Debut on NBC's LAW & ORDER: SVU

The NY Post reports that former WNBC anchorwoman Sue Simmons will make her acting debut on the two-part season premiere of the network's LAW & ORDER:SVU drama series. Simmons will portray a fictional version of herself in the episode shot last month. She will appear as a reporter who is broadcasting live from the scene of a breaking scandal that involves the NYPD, the DA’s office and two rival escort agencies.

Says SVU” executive producer Warren Leight, “It’s a big scandal within the world we’ve created . . . there’s a dead hooker in the captain’s bed . . . and we go to a newscaster to help us understand the story. Sue opens the episode doing a news standup from outside 1 Police Plaza. We’ll bring her back for the second episode of the two-parter.”

Leight tells the Post that when the decision was made to cast a real newscaster in the role, Simmons name was the first one to be suggested. “We thought maybe she’d want to do it and she said yes immediately. She was thrilled and had a great time.” Added the producer, 
“She was terrific. It wasn’t like she needed extra takes. You never know what you’re going to get [when using real news people] but it wasn’t an issue with Sue."

Simmons lost her post at Channel 4 News in New York last June after anchoring the program for the past 32 years. In one of Simmons’ final comments on WNBC, she said her hope was to be, “employed elsewhere at some point, even if it’s just once a week.”