Broadway Star Lindsay Mendez Joins Law & Order: SVU in a Scene-Stealing Role
An explosive courtroom showdown led to a not-so-happy ending after Mendez made her SVU debut.
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This story contains spoilers for Law & Order: SVU Season 27, Episode 5 ("Feed the Craving").
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has shone a spotlight on countless dynamite guest stars over the decades, but Broadway legend Lindsay Mendez just stole the show during the squad's latest courtroom showdown.
The Merrily We Roll Along star has built a prolific entertainment career, appearing in several iconic television series since first capturing hearts on Broadway. From defying gravity as Elphaba to scoring a Tony Award for her powerhouse vocals, Mendez's talent knows no bounds, so she was bound to shake things up after crossing paths with Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) during her Law & Order: SVU debut.
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Mendez appears in Season 27, Episode 5 ("Feed the Craving") alongside fellow SVU guest star Danielle MacDonald, and together, they throw Benson's squad through a legal nightmare amid one of the most mind-boggling cases the unit has ever faced.
Why you recognize SVU guest star Lindsay Mendez
Mendez instantly gripped viewers on SVU, but she is perhaps best known for her stage work as a Tony-winning actress and singer. While Mendez boasts many Broadway and off-Broadway credits, she recently made headlines after starring alongside Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe in the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along, which was filmed for a 2025 big screen release.
Mendez first earned Broadway fame as Jan in Grease but gained even more widespread acclaim after playing Elphaba in the smash Broadway hit Wicked. In 2018, she scored a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Carrie Pipperidge in the Broadway revival of Carousel.
Mendez has also guest starred in several television series, playing Sara Castillo in the legal drama All Rise, as well as making guest appearances in primetime hits like Modern Family, Elementary, American Sports Story, and Elsbeth.
Lindsay Mendez played a jaded defense attorney on Law & Order: SVU
Mendez guest stars in SVU's "Feed the Craving" as a defense attorney Andrea Fargas, a lawyer who is recruited to represent the squad's latest perpetrator, Natalie (Danielle MacDonald). Benson arrested Natalie for 30 counts of fraud and seven counts of sexual abuse after she was discovered to have faked numerous pregnancies to sexually exploit doulas for their care services.
A.D.A. Sonny Carisi (Peter Scanavino) knew the case would be tricky after meeting Natalie's lawyer, defense attorney Andra Fargas. While Carisi presented evidence to charge Natalie, Andrea claimed Natalie lacked criminal responsibility due to a mental defect or disease. At the trial, Andrea's defense revealed to the jury that Natalie suffered from self-imposed Munchausen syndrome.
Andrea argued that it was Natalie's mental condition had led her to falsify the pregnancies and hire the doulas under fraudulent pretenses, calling Natalie's psychiatrist to the stand to verify these claims. Natalie was sick and had an illness, not a predator, a defense that irritated Benson and the squad, who saw through the facade.
But the jury leaned otherwise in the outlandish case, sympathizing with a teary-eyed Natalie and swayed by Andrea's polished defense. After the trial concluded, the jury dragged their feet on reaching a verdict, inspiring Andrea to pay her friend Carisi a visit at his office.
"Sympathetic defendant, shaky felony charge at best, you really think waiting it out is your best move?" Andrea asked.
Carisi could smell a plea bargain from a mile away, asking Andrea to cut to the chase. Andrea offered that Natalie would plead guilty to all 30 counts of fraud but would walk on the sexual abuse charges. Carisi initially wouldn't bite, but Andrea remained confident.
"I think it's kind of sweet this office hasn't killed that twinkle in your eye just yet," Andrea told him, reminding Carisi that all she needed was one juror to believe Natalie — while he needed to persuade all 12 to win.
"Good luck with that," Andrea smirked while leaving Carisi's office.
Despite the bleak fallout, Carisi knew that Andrea had a point. Rather than potentially seeing a sexual predator walk on all of the nefarious charges against her, Carisi accepted the plea bargain, allowing Natalie to avoid the sex registry.
Carisi admitted to Benson that it wasn't his idea of a happy ending — but if Natalie ever screwed up again, they'd be waiting.
Lindsay Mendez was "an inspiration" on the set of SVU
NBC Insider got the opportunity to chat with Mendez's on-screen client Danielle MacDonald ahead of the episode, and she couldn't help but rave over the experience of working with such a Broadway legend.
"That was so cool, she is amazing," MacDonald revealed, adding that their many shared scenes in the courtroom led the actresses to hang out a lot between takes. MacDonald also recalled the moment she watched some of the other guest stars get starstruck at the sight of Mendez in the courtroom.
"There were a couple of girls that had just graduated from drama school, and this is some of their first jobs, which is so exciting," MacDonald said. "And they were lovely, and really talented, and they saw Lindsay, and they were like, 'Oh!"
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MacDonald revealed that many of the guest stars view Mendez as "such an inspiration," so it was lovely to see the full-circle moment of budding stars interacting with an entertainment icon. "It's really nice seeing people graduating from drama school and being so excited about getting to work with someone who's been in the industry for a while, and then just being kind and open and giving advice."
"This industry is all about connecting, and there was definitely room for that, and Lindsey was just really gracious and really great with everyone," MacDonald gushed. "She's really fun, I had a lot of fun with her."
Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
