ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY AND AWARD NEWS  JULY 03, 2019 When Law & Order: SVU Met The Handmaid’s Tale Fans of old-school SVU may have been thrilled and alarmed in equal measure to learn that a key alum of Manhattan’s most dedicated detective unit has up and moved to Gilead: Christopher Meloni, who’s now in the thick of an intriguing guest arc on The Handmaid’s Tale.On Hulu’s dystopian drama, Meloni plays Commander George Winslow, a powerful government official who wears his authority on his sleeve—and has an impressive brood of children, particularly for a society where a mysterious bout of infertility has rendered babies the most precious commodity of all. That quality was key to Meloni understanding his character, the actor tells Laura Bradley in a new interview: “For one person to be hoarding so many children—I’m like, ‘This guy’s basically Kublai Khan in a way.’” Elsewhere in HWD, Sonia Saraiya considers the strange legacy of The Karate Kid, which turns 35 years old this summer; Richard Lawson recommends six things to watch if you, like most Americans, are suffering blockbuster fatigue this summer; contributor Emily Romegoes inside Ophelia, and Nicole Sperling chats with director Lulu Wang about her poignant, personal new film, The Farewell.

This Is His Story Christopher Meloni, the actor formerly known as Elliot Stabler, on playing The Handmaid’s Tale’s most imposing new commander. READ MORE » Reviving Ophelia A spoiler-filled conversation with director Claire McCarthy and screenwriter Semi Chellas, the women behind the feminist Hamlet retelling Ophelia. READ MORE » Blockbuster Alternatives V.F.’s chief critic has film and TV solutions for a summer full of doldrums, including Midsommar and the latest season of Stranger Things. READ MORE » Wax On A meditation on The Karate Kid, now 35 years old—and Mr. Miyagi, a landmark character who doesn’t get his due in the film’s popular, YouTube-based spin-off, Cobra Kai. READ MORE » All in the Family Lulu Wang was ready to give up filmmaking for good. Then she told her family’s story in a hit podcast—and finally found an avenue to transport it to the screen, via the Sundance favorite The Farewell. READ MORE »