The biggest Law & Order: SVU news over the summer was that Kelli Giddish would be leaving the long-running procedural at some point in Season 24. The actress has played Detective Amanda Rollins for over a decade, and even the introduction of a new detective hasn’t made it easier to imagine a future without Rollins. Now that new details have emerged about how Giddish will be written out, there may be a silver lining.
Kelli Giddish’s final episode of SVU will air on December 8 and she will appear as a guest star on Law & Order: Organized Crime at some point later in the current Season 3, according to Variety. While it’s not good news for fans of Rollins that less than two months are left with her, there are signs here that the drama could give her a fitting farewell.
Kelli Giddish’s Final Episode On December 8
The final episode for Rollins airing on December 8 suggests that SVU is reserving a big episode for her farewell. The first or second week of December is traditionally when SVU airs its midseason finale, and the Season 23 midseason finale aired almost exactly one year prior on December 9, 2021. While it’s not confirmed that Giddish’s final episode will be the midseason finale, I feel comfortable saying that’s the case.
And for all that I’ve been dreading losing the actress (even though one episode managed to make me less nervous about her farewell), the idea that the midseason finale will be devoted to her swan song seems like the best way to honor Rollins while also having to write her out. Plus, Kelli Giddish has been absolutely crushing her performances in the wake of Rollins being shot in the three-part crossover premiere.
Besides, the way that another Wolf Entertainment TV show said goodbye to a series regular recently just makes me all the more relieved that SVU has spent the full fall season with Rollins building to her goodbye. Chicago P.D. wrote out Jesse Lee Soffer (a ten-year veteran of One Chicago) after just three episodes of the current season; having Rollins until December 8 is practically a blessing in comparison. (Chicago Med is also keeping a series regular until December before writing him out.) SVU can take its time, and that’s not bad news for me.
Kelli Giddish Is Coming To Organized Crime
Unlike Mariska Hargitay, Kelli Giddish doesn’t show up on the SVU spinoff on a semi-regular basis, and is currently only credited with one appearance on Organized Crime. The report that she’ll come to OC isn’t a guarantee that she’ll have a huge part to play, but it’s encouraging to know that she’ll get to show up on the Stabler spinoff this season.
It’s technically possible that she could appear on Organized Crime after she leaves SVU since there were no details about when she’ll appear in Season 3, but I’m guessing it’ll be sometime before OC’s midseason finale. Whatever happens, the franchise isn’t just shoving her into the background before writing her out, and I’ll take all the silver linings that I can get with losing the character and the actress.
You can still find Kelli Giddish in new episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, between the original Law & Order at 8 p.m. and Law & Order: OC at 10 p.m. in the 2022 TV premiere schedule. You can also revisit past seasons streaming with a Peacock subscription.
