Mariska Hargitay has played a fearless cop on Law & Order: SVU for over two decades now and, because of her stellar work on the show, she's been referred to as a "female powerhouse" among other things. The actress, who's also directed episodes, seems to be fearless but, as evidenced by a social media post, that's not actually the case. Hargitay shared a video that shows her facing a particularly big fear: singing in public. And in this case, she serenaded Law & Order alum and Broadway legend: Betty Buckley, and the footage is so sweet.
Few can match the theater career of Betty Buckley, whose credits include Cats, Sunset Boulevard and Hello, Dolly! On top of that, she's starred in her fair share of TV and movie productions. The icon guest starred as Attorney Walsh in three episodes of SVU back in 2006 and reappeared in a different role in a 2021 episode, which saw her play Trial Division Chief Lorraine Maxwell. In an Instagram post shared by Mariska Hargitay, the actress finally worked up the nerve to sing in front of Buckley alongside a crew member, and she honored her with a classic song, “Blue Bayou." Take a look:
If anyone needed some Monday Motivation, that video should satisfy you. The thought of singing before a group of people is already nerve-wracking, but doing it in front of a Broadway legend is even more intense. Ultimately though, the Olivia Benson actress performed the song with ease and, because of her courage, she now has a sweet memory that she can share for years to come.
Something that's unclear is when this clip was actually recorded. It could be an older video that Mariska Hargitay had kept to herself up to this point, or it could be more recent and confirm that Betty Buckley is returning to the show before this season concludes. Regardless of the circumstances, I love that fact that Hargitay and Buckley were able to share that special moment.
We don’t know much about what else to expect from the remainder of SVU’s 24th season, which can be streamed with a Peacock subscription. Fans can partially surmise that the series is hinting at Benson’s future ahead of next month’s finale. One would hope that the final episodes will close out this season on a high note.
But ahead of that, I just can't help but smile over Mariska Hargitay's performance for Betty Buckley. Now, I'm eager to see the two perform a duet at some point in the future, which would certainly be heavenly. Here's hoping that such a performance happens.
New episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit air Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC as part of the 2023 TV schedule.
