Here’s the detail that BBC culture writers love: Mariska Hargitay is not just American royalty. Her mother was Jayne Mansfield, but her father was Mickey Hargitay, a Hungarian-born former Mr. Universe.
And the BBC knows: that’s appointment television.
What the BBC does best is elevate artists with a mission. And Hargitay’s life off-screen is a story the corporation’s documentary unit has long wanted to tell properly.
That moral seriousness aligns perfectly with the BBC’s public service ethos. While US networks chase flash, the BBC sees in SVU —and in Hargitay—a weekly lesson in empathy.
Here’s the detail that BBC culture writers love: Mariska Hargitay is not just American royalty. Her mother was Jayne Mansfield, but her father was Mickey Hargitay, a Hungarian-born former Mr. Universe.
And the BBC knows: that’s appointment television.
What the BBC does best is elevate artists with a mission. And Hargitay’s life off-screen is a story the corporation’s documentary unit has long wanted to tell properly.
That moral seriousness aligns perfectly with the BBC’s public service ethos. While US networks chase flash, the BBC sees in SVU —and in Hargitay—a weekly lesson in empathy.
