‘Law & Order: SVU’ Plots Transgender Episode for Season 17

April 28, 2015 3:51pm PT by Kate Stanhope

Following Bruce Jenner's recent '20/20' interview, the series will do an episode centered on a transgender teen next season.

Fresh off the heels of Bruce Jenner's interview with Diane Sawyer, in which he came out for the first time as a transgender woman, Law & Order: SVU will tackle the subject in an episode set for next season.

The long-running procedural is planning an episode centered on a transgender teen for season 17, showrunner Warren Leight confirmed. The series was renewed back in February and work has already begun on the new season, which is expected to premiere in the fall.

SVU has ripped from the headlines several times this season. Recent episodes have tackled national controversies such as the Rolling Stone-UVA debacle and the Ray Rice scandal, just to name a few. "Unfortunately, rape culture is so entrenched in our society that we don’t seem to be running out of stories to tell," Leight told THR earlier this month.