Kelli Giddish returning to ‘Law & Order: SVU ‘ after exit
Dun Dun.
Kelli Giddish is reprising her role as Detective Amanda Rollins in the Season 24 finale of “Law & Order: SVU.”
[Warning: Major spoilers ahead]
The actress — who generated fandom shockwaves when she announced her mysterious departure from the NBC franchise — is also slated to appear in the penultimate episode of the spinoff “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” TVLine reported.
Giddish will reportedly be accompanied by a surprise, uh, guest when she returns to Dick Wolf’s enduring police procedural.
Yes, Detective Rollins will arrive on the crime scene — pregnant, sources confirmed exclusively to the outlet.
The fan favorite first revealed her unexplained exit via an emotional social media message in August 2022.
“I wanted to address the chatter I’ve seen online and let everyone know that this will, indeed, be my last season on ‘Law & Order: SVU.’ Playing Rollins has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life,” Giddish, 42, wrote on Instagram at the time.
“I’ve been so fortunate to be a part of the ‘Law & Order’ family for the last 12 years.”
Her shocking exit was reportedly not her decision — with some industry sources revealing that she was forced out.
Showrunner David Graziano — who replaced Warren Leight after Season 23 and has faced claims of on-set bullying and sexual harassment — responded to the news after outraged fans started tagging him in social media rants.
“You might take a moment to entertain the idea that things are more complex than they appear in a world of emojis and tweets. All I’ll say is Kelli has handled this with the most incredibly classy comportment,” he responded in the comments section of Giddish’s Instagram announcement.
“She is, without a doubt, one of the finest industry professionals I’ve come across in my 24 years of writing television. I’m saddened by her looming exit. It’ll be my lucky day if I ever get to write for her again.”
Meanwhile, Giddish continued to gush in her lengthy post: “There is simply no other character on TV like Rollins. She’s grown and changed, and I have as well. I started on this show when I was in my late 20s and I’m grateful I got to spend so many of my adult years with Rollins in my life.”
“I’m so excited to take all the things I have learned in my time on ‘SVU’ and put them toward everything that’s next to come…#SVU,” she concluded.
Fans were heartbroken by the news.
“I need tissues!” commented one die-hard “Law & Order: SVU” devotee.
“WHAT IS THIS NOOO,” said another.
The Post reached out to Giddish and NBC for comment.
Giddish’s final episode after 12 years as a series regular — which aired in December — saw the cop getting married to her longtime love interest Assistant District Attorney Sonny Carisi Jr (played by Peter Scanavino) as well as the fan-favorite detective revealing that she was leaving the force to become a professor at Fordham University.
Hence the twist — she’s giving her daughters Jesse and Billie a new sibling.
In previous seasons, the writers managed to write Giddish’s real-life pregnancies into the show.
The actress was married to businessman Lawrence Faulborn in 2015 but the pair divorced in 2018. The former spouses share sons Ludo Faulborn, 7, and Charlie Ralph Faulborn, 4.
Rollins is expected to make her return to the fictional criminal justice system on May 18, 2023.
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