Law & Order: SVU will have a familiar face coming in Season 25 as Kelli Giddish will return as Detective Amanda Rollins. But is it a one-off appearance or is she back full-time? Here’s what we know.
Debuting in Season 13, Amanda Rollins was an Atlanta cop who brought a nice new intensity to the SVU team. She had her issues, such as a gambling problem, that got her in trouble, but still dedicated to helping victims.
Rollins endured a lot on the job, including having two daughters. In the Season 24 premiere, she was shot in the line of duty protecting a witness and spent several episodes wrestling with PTSD. Eventually, Rollins decided to accept a job as a college professor and leave the unit. This was after she and Carisi (Peter Scanavino) got married in a civil ceremony.
This came amid rumors that the producers wanted a change and Giddish didn’t want to leave. Rollins did return in the last few episodes of Season 24 with the revelation she was now pregnant with Carisi’s child, her third.
As it happened, Giddish was hiding that she was pregnant in real life as she and her husband Beau Richards welcomed their son Oldie in June.
So that seemed to be just a brief appearance, but it sounds like Rollins is coming back sooner than expected.
What is Rollins’ status in Law & Order: SVU Season 25?
According to TVLine, Rollins will appear in the Season 25 premiere, set for Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. It’s stated that so far, it’s just one brief appearance (perhaps to show Rollins having given birth) with no word on whether Giddish rejoins the show full-time.
The series did just write off Rollins’s replacement, Grace Muncy (Molly Burnett) and Rollins’s last appearance had her admitting she missed being a cop. So it is quite possible Rollins decides to rejoin SVU and get back to what she does best. At the least, it will be good to see her reconnect with the squad, and Rollins will perhaps be open to more appearances.
Thus, for now, Giddish is set for just the Season 25 premiere but it’s intriguing to imagine Rollins does return to the SVU team and continue her run as a beloved character for the show.
Law & Order: SVU Season 25 premieres Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 9/8c on NBC.