Law & Order: SVU didn’t wait too long in Season 26 before delivering the return of Kelli Giddish as Amanda Rollins, and her arrival in the fall 2024 TV schedule wasn’t as a professor or for a Rollisi family moment. She’s in the NYPD again in a story development that promises to bring Giddish back as the season continues, even though she’s not back in Special Victims. Now, as SVU continues telling Carisi’s side of the Rollisi story with a twist involving young Jesse, I’m still thinking back on what Giddish said about working with Mariska Hargitay again.
Part of why Rollins remains on my mind is due to NBC’s description for the next episode, called “Constricted,” which airs on October 24. A subplot will seemingly involve Carisi and Jesse. Check out the official description:
A romantic date ends with a teenager fighting for her life in the hospital. Carisi can’t help bringing the case home with him as he envisions the dangers ahead for his growing daughters.
Reading that description not too long after Kelli Giddish described Peter Scanavino as the on-set “baby whisperer” in an interview with CinemaBlend just reminded me further of what she said about returning to her SVU family. When I spoke with the actress about feeling “so ready” to catch bad guys again as Rollins, I also asked what it feels like for her to return after so many people were vocal about her departure from the show in Season 24, and she shared:
That's nice that you think a lot of people are going to be happy to have me back, and it feels really good to have people say, 'We want Rollins back!' Of course that makes me feel awesome. It's an honor to go back and to be invited back. It's like returning to a family, kind of like going back to Thanksgiving dinner. [laughs] And I get to go act with Mariska!
As one of the Law & Order actors who appeared in the most episodes of the franchise, Kelli Giddish’s sudden absence halfway through Season 24 was a turning point for Law & Order: SVU. Benson in particular struggled with suddenly losing seeing her friend on a daily basis, leading to some frostiness when they first reunited that season.
It certainly sounds like there’s nothing frosty between real-life friends Kelli Giddish and Mariska Hargitay, and Benson supported Rollins in her new gig with the NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau in the most recent episode of Season 26. (You can stream the episode with a Peacock subscription now.) Giddish went on about reuniting with the whole SVU team, saying:
I get to go see all of my crew again, the camera crew and the props and everybody there that I've worked with for so many years, and check in and see how people's kids are. And I get to embody this awesome character again, and she's always developing and always maturing. Her struggles are different. The conflicts that arise are different. Creatively, they've done such a good job with keeping Rollins developing in an interesting way.
The episode that brought Kelli Giddish back and introduced her as a new sergeant in the NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau honestly felt to me more like a backdoor pilot than another one-off episode like those that had previously featured Giddish in the last two seasons; even if there’s not another spinoff a la Law & Order: Organized Crime in the works for Giddish like Christopher Meloni got, I consider it a sign of a good story that it feels like there’s still so much more to be told.
There’s no news just yet about when we might see Rollins back in Season 26 again, but SVU is touching on the Rollins/Carisi family in the next episode. While fans will have to tune in on October 24 to see exactly what NBC’s long-running drama has in store, it would almost be strange at this point if Carisi wasn’t concerned about Jesse and Billie after more than a decade with Special Victims, first as a detective and then an ADA. Check out a preview of the case that will be troubling him:
See what’s next for Carisi and Rollins – whether or not Rollins appears on screen with Kelli Giddish as a guest star – with new episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, following Law & Order Season 24 at 8 p.m. ET. You can also revisit Giddish’s days as a series regular with the full run of SVU to date streaming on Peacock.
