LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT Vet Neal Baer Looks Back on Season 12: ‘Bully,’ ‘Bombshell,’ ‘Totem,’ ‘Reparations,’ ‘Bang,’ ‘Delinquent,’ and ‘Smoked’

[To read more of the LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT retrospective with former showrunner Neal Baer, check out part 1, part 2, and part 3.] Read more

Neal Baer on Diving into CRISPR for ‘Perspectives in Biology & Medicine’ and What Would Have Happened in DESIGNATED SURVIVOR Season 4

After bringing CRISPR—clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, a tool which allows DNA to be edited—into the pop culture conversation with DESIGNATED SURVIVOR season 3, Neal Baer (who is also a doctor) dove deeper into the issue as the guest editor for a special issue of Perspectives in Biology & Medicine, a scholarly journal published by The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Baer is also lending his producing power to the Sundance documentary WELCOME TO CHECHNYA (which will air on HBO later this year), as the film tackles the continued attacks against the LGBTQ+ population in Russia and the activists who are working to combat the threats.

“Human rights issues are at the forefront of our lives now, and I’ve been really fortunate to be involved in these projects,” Baer says.

Here, he dives into why the CRISPR technology is so dangerous and how storytelling might be able to combat it, why he wanted to be a part of WELCOME TO CHECHNYA’s producing team, and what would have happened in DESIGNATED SURVIVOR’s fourth season. Read more

Neal Baer Reflects on Robin Williams’ LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT Guest Spot

When LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT celebrated its 200th episode, “Authority,” in 2008, the show recruited a big guest star: Robin Williams.

Williams portrayed Merritt Rook, a man who pretended to be a police officer over the phone and prompted people to commit crimes.

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Neal Baer on ER and LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT’s Milestone Anniversaries

A number of shows are reaching milestones this fall, but LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (celebrating its 20th anniversary and milestone 21st season on television) and ER (25th anniversary) share a common thread: executive producer Neal Baer. (SVU star Mariska Hargitay also had a brief arc on ER when Baer was an EP.)

Baer, who is also a doctor, was brought on to ER for his medical expertise. “I believe I’m the first doctor-writer on TV,” he points out. While other shows broke the stories first and then added the medicine in later, “[creator] John Wells’ insight and foresight flipped it and started the foundation with [doctors], recounting our stories. So it was built on the medicine.” 

Both series were ahead of their times…a move that wasn’t without risk. “I’m very grateful to NBC for allowing us for 18 years—I did seven on ER and 11 on SVU—to do these hard-hitting shows that still resonate to the audience,” Baer says.

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DESIGNATED SURVIVOR Boss on Season 3’s Big Tragedy

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the third season of DESIGNATED SURVIVOR.]

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DESIGNATED SURVIVOR: Neal Baer on Staging an ER Reunion, Kirkman’s Re-Election Campaign

When DESIGNATED SURVIVOR returns for its third season on Friday, June 7, there will be a number of obvious changes: a new home (Netflix, after its ABC cancellation), new faces (including Anthony Edwards and Julie White), and longer episodes that dive deeper into current social issues as President Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) runs for re-election.

Off-camera, there was also a transition, as Neal Baer (ER, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, UNDER THE DOME) stepped in to run the series.

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UNDER THE DOME: Neal Baer Teases Season 2

UNDER THE DOME is back tonight with a very special season premiere — Stephen King (who wrote the book the CBS series was based on) is penning the hour.

“Stephen writing the episode is really sending us off into a place that he feels really proud of and really loves and it’s his kind of ideas of how to go beyond the book,” UNDER THE DOME showrunner Neal Baer told reporters last month during a panel for the series. “And so that’s really special for us to have Stephen launch us this season. And…what’s better than having kitchen appliances and barbecues come to life? That’s so Stephen King.”

As the season 2 premiere plays out, a few familiar faces will meet their end (and one death is particularly violent), but some newbies will be joining the show to make up for the losses.

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