Law & Order: SVU is bringing a fan favorite back this week, with Kelli Giddish making her first return as a guest star in the fall 2024 TV schedule as Amanda Rollins. She's no longer torn over what her professional future holds like she was during Season 25, but has returned to the NYPD and earned a big promotion in the process. Kelli Giddish spoke with CinemaBlend about Rollins' new gig and why she's ready to get back to work chasing down bad guys.
While Rollins isn't returning to Benson and Special Victims Unit, that's in line with what Mariska Hargitay's character suggested to the former detective last season. Instead, she has found a place in the NYPD's Intelligence Bureau, which shouldn't be confused with Law & Order: Organized Crime's Organized Crime Control Bureau or even Chicago P.D.'s Intelligence Unit elsewhere in nine-show Dick Wolf TV universe.
So, what is the role of the Intelligence Bureau in the Law & Order version of the NYPD, and what appeals to Rollins about it after her time away from officially working as a cop? Ahead of her return episode on October 17, I asked Kelli Giddish that very question, and she explained:
The goal of the NYPD Intelligence Bureau is to detect and disrupt criminal activity through the use of intelligence-led policy. What that means in Rollins' words is it's like eavesdropping on the whole world. [laughs] And the NYPD Intelligence Bureau, I think singularly, has a global presence, because it's in New York City. That's who they're protecting. To have all of the information now that Rollins has, and to be able to give that to the rest of the police department is a totally different arena for her. Now she's a sergeant, so I think you see her embrace that role, embrace all of that new information, all the seriousness of this job in such a great way.
As somebody who was never really sold on Rollins leaving Special Victims to take on a job as an adjunct professor at Fordham despite the character having very valid reasons for leaving fieldwork after being shot, I for one am going to embrace the character getting back to work she's great at. She got a happy ending to her time as an SVU main character on the personal front after marrying Carisi; will this be a happy turn of events for her professionally? Kelli Giddish went on:
It fires her up. You see the light in her eyes, and you see her so ready to go get the bad guys again. And it's different this time. She's not SVU anymore. Her singular focus is not to get the rapist, it's not to help the survivor. Of course that's her background and of course she's always going to do that, but she wants to get the criminal masterminds in this episode coming up that are orchestrating crime tourism. That's different.
Interestingly, it was just last week that Mariska Hargitay guest-starred on Law & Order and Benson clashed with the ADA about wanting to protect the victim's rights more than just close a case. (You can find that episode streaming with a Peacock subscription.) Rollins won't be focusing as much on victims as a sergeant as she did as a Special Victims detective under Benson. Giddish previewed how Rollins and Benson will approach the case of the next episode differently:
Benson is still Benson. She's gonna protect her survivors no matter what, and Rollins is like, 'Yeah, but remember, we still gotta get the bad guys that did this to her.' For the first time, they have a little bit of a different objective. Seeing that kind of clash, it was so interesting to play with Mariska, and the fact that we have so much history together, we can have those interactions. They're interesting to see because it's two strong women that love and trust each other and respect each other. It was really fun to play.
It wasn't that long ago that Benson and Rollins' relationship was rocky, to the point that Rollins even acknowledged it to Organized Crime's Stabler, who knows a thing or two (or twenty) about rockiness with the SVU captain. So, it's a great sign that the two women will be able to work together with their love, trust, and respect to catch bad guys. All in all, I'm glad that Kelli Giddish is expected to appear in several episodes of SVU Season 26 to make the most of this storyline.
It's not as much Rollins as we'd get if Giddish returned full-time, but it seems like there a lot to look forward to in her first episode of Season 26. Check out the promo for the October 17 episode, called "Divide & Conquer," below:
Tune in to NBC on Thursday, October 17 at 9 p.m. ET for Kelli Giddish's return episode of Law & Order: SVU, following Law & Order with Blacklist alum Ryan Eggold guest-starring at 8 p.m. ET. You can also also check out the SVU seasons with Giddish as a series regular streaming on Peacock.
