One of Mariska Hargitay’s dreams for SVU Season 26 is coming true: Kelli Giddish is returning as Amanda Rollins.
“Rollins will be back,” Martin confirms. “She’ll guest star and appear multiple times throughout the season,” Graziano adds. “We’re thrilled about it.”
Though Giddish left as a regular in December 2022, she’s made several returns, the latest being in May 2024 when Rollins helped Benson with an assault case. Benson then advised Rollins to find her true passion, saying, “I don’t want SVU to be your safety net.”
Looks like Rollins took that advice seriously. In Season 26, she’ll be part of the NYPD’s Intelligence Unit, which has officers stationed globally. “Rollins will travel a lot for her new job,” Graziano explains.
Fans, we’re excited to see what happens next!
Don’t worry ‘Rollisi’ fans; Rollins and Carisi are still happily married and raising their three kids. Her absences will allow Carisi to improve his solo-parenting skills, with help from friends like Liv and Fin. For instance, Graziano teases that Carisi and his daughter will face a challenge together.
The new season starts on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 9/8c on NBC. While they didn’t specify the number of episodes Giddish will be in, Graziano joked there would be a “bouquet of them” but didn’t say how big the bouquet would be.
In a May interview, Hargitay expressed regret over not being able to prevent Giddish’s departure in 2022. “Kelli is my favorite actor to work with. Kelli is my heart,” she said back then. “It’s a sore subject. I have a lot of say on the show but not enough there.”
She continued: “I don’t like not being listened to, especially when I’m right… That relationship was one of the most powerful relationships on TV because you saw two badass women who were flawed but always there for each other.”
Stay tuned for more SVU Season 26 updates in TVLine’s Fall TV Preview. Until then, share your thoughts about Giddish’s return in the comments!
