Kelli Giddish (Amanda Rollins) just can’t stay away from the SVU set and Mariska Hargitay (Olivia Benson) is loving it.
On April 2, Hargitay shared a picture of herself and Giddish spending time together filming Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25. In the photo, Hargitay has the biggest grin on her face and waves a script over her head, while Giddish looks radiant in a beige coat. The special snapshot was to celebrate Giddish’s upcoming second guest return to SVU after her character’s official departure in Season 24.
”#Reunited and it feels so good! #MeAndMyGirl #raindropskeepfallingonmyhead #DynamicDuo #GirlPower #LadyBosses #FierceFriendship #Svu25,” Hargitay captioned the post.
Kelli Giddish comes back for SVU Season 25
Although the actress stepped away from her role as Detective Rollins in Season 24 to take a job at Fordham University as a criminology professor, she made a much-anticipated return in a guest role, reprising the character in the Season 25 premiere. There, we got to see Rollins celebrating the christening of her new baby, which the character welcomed with Carisi (Peter Scanavino).
Better yet, it has been officially confirmed that Giddish will return to SVU again for Season 25, Episode 11.
Hargitay first dropped hints that Rollins would be seen in Season 25 again via Instagram in November 2023. In a fun clip the two were seen goofing around on set.
“Back with my lil boo thang,” Hargitay captioned the post.
“This is everything to me rn,” the official NBC Instagram page commented.
A week later, Hargitay shared a snapshot of her, Octavio Pisano (Joe Velasco), Scanavino, and Giddish all smiling together behind the scenes.
“The kind that lasts a lifetime🫶 #25” Hargitay captioned the picture.
Why Kelli Giddish left SVU
In a 2022 interview with Variety, Giddish explained the reason behind her departure from the show.
“I started playing her in my late 20s, so I’ve played her in three decades of my life, which is nuts. It’s insane. This is a show unlike any other,” she said. “Shows don’t last 12 years, much less getting to play a character. With playing someone as multi-faceted as Rollins, I got to play all kinds of different things — down and out, on top, joyful, doubtful, scared, triumphant. I got to do the gambit.”
She continued, “My side of things is just that it’s time in the Rollins storyline. I felt like where it was heading, and where it headed last night, just seemed the right place to leave it right now. I am so excited about things going on in my personal life and kind of the mirroring of what’s going on in my personal life and in Rollins’, there’s a lot of joy to be experienced.”
