Kelli Giddish Talks ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Return With New Showrunner and Big Surprises

Erin Maxwell August 8, 2025, 8:00 pm

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Kelli Giddish in 'Law & Order: SVU' - Season 24 — Ralph Bavaro/NBC

You can’t keep a good woman down.

Last May, it was announced that Kelli Giddish would return to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as a series regular, reprising her role as Sergeant Amanda Rollins. Although she has appeared as a special guest star since her departure, Giddish has not been a regular cast member since Season 24 Episode 9, “And a Trauma in a Pear Tree,” when Rollins married ADA Dominick Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino) and left the squad to teach at Fordham University.

Reunited with her old squad, Giddish is thrilled to be back. She shared her happiness in an interview with Extra, where the SVU actress discussed her return as a series regular and what it means for both the show and her character. She also offered a glimpse at what fans can in the upcoming season and how her return will impact the squad room.

“I’m back as a series regular. And I couldn’t be happier about it. It feels right. I got the offer, and I was like, ‘Oh course, of course.’ I can’t wait to come back. And we have a new showrunner this year, so that’s going to be exciting to see what she puts on the page for us to play with. It feels revitalized in a whole new way, even though it’s Season 27,” said a giddy Giddish.

Kelli Giddish on returning to “Law & Order: SVU” as a series regular, her friendship with Mariska Hargitay, and some surprise appearances! ☺️🤫

Full interview 🔗: https://t.co/AUKGpqXxLD #SVU #LawAndOrder @lawandordertv pic.twitter.com/KAizYXrZ7a

— ExtraTV (@extratv) August 8, 2025

“I think just navigating the relationships in the squad room are always going to be a source of drama,” said Giddish. “But also seeing her and Benson [Mariska Hargitay], and seeing that relationship evolve. We got Carisi and Rollins to kind of relax into.”

“I’m really looking forward to see what Michele [Fazekas] does. She was a writer on SVU back in the single-digit season numbers,” laughed Giddish. “I’m really looking forward to seeing what she brings to the table.”

Kelli Giddish Will Be Back as Rollins Full-Time on 'SVU' Next Season

“We just started to film. We got the premiere under our belt, and that was a lot of fun. There might be some appearances by people who might surprise you. So that is going to be a treat for the fans,” she teased.

When told about how excited the fanbase is to have Rollins return to the main cast, Giddish said the feeling was mutual.

“It’s joyous. It’s a joyous moment right now.”

Law & Order: SVU Thursday, September 25, 9/8c.