Vice President Joe Biden made a cameo appearance on the latest episode of Law and Order: SVU Wednesday night.
Biden’s guest appearance was the crown jewel of an episode already overstuffed with delightful pop culture touchstones. Henry Thomas, the actor who once upon a time played Elliott in E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, played a man found guilty of rape then later cleared on flawed DNA evidence — only to be suspected in a more violent crime later on. If this premise sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a nod to the wildly popular Netflix series Making a Murderer.
Biden’s appearance was a political exercise of sorts: he used it to speak out against the backlog of rape kits at police departments across the U.S.
His fans mostly seemed delighted just to see him.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- The Revolution of Yulia Navalnaya
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- What's the Deal With the Bitcoin Halving?
- If You're Dating Right Now , You're Brave: Column
- The AI That Could Heal a Divided Internet
- Fallout Is a Brilliant Model for the Future of Video Game Adaptations
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com