‘Law & Order: SVU’ Is Bringing Kelli Giddish Back in Season 26 — Find Out Where Rollins Is Working

Meredith Jacobs September 5, 2024, 4:42 pm

Kelli Giddish in 'Law & Order: SVU' — Ralph Bavaro/NBC

It sounds like Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) is going to be settling into a job that should make her happier than she was before she quit teaching when she returns to Law & Order: SVU for Season 26.

Giddish is set to appear in multiple episodes, with “a bunch of appearances throughout the season,” executive producer David Graziano told TVLine. A trend has been established in Giddish’s returns since exiting as a series regular in Season 24 of Rollins working on cases with her former squad; teaching was boring compared to her previous work. Now, though, we know that she’ll be doing work she’ll be enjoying.

Rollins is now part of the Intelligence Unit of the New York Police Department. According to Graziano, it’s “very different from the Intelligence Unit anywhere else because the Intelligence Unit in New York has cops stationed in almost every country in the world.” That results in plenty of traveling for Rollins, but that won’t affect her marriage to ADA Sonny Carisi (Peter Scanavino).

It was in Rollins’ last episode, her second appearance of Season 25, that she was faced with figuring out what the future held for her after she quit. “It’s like she never missed a beat,” Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) remarked at one point. That came in a conversation with Sergeant Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T) that included her pointing out they needed to check on her paperwork. “You think it’s possible she could actually still be a cop?” he asked. That could have easily paved the way for this new job of hers.

'SVU' Photo: See Captain Benson With Her Season 26 Squad

That episode did set it up for her to want to return to the NYPD in some capacity. Carisi commented on the “spark in [her] eye” as they worked undercover together, something he hadn’t seen since she left the squad, and he told Benson that he’d “figure out a way to be okay with it” if she wanted to return. But Rollins wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, and Benson thought she should look for something new, which working with the Intelligence Unit is.

It should be interesting to see how Rollins, settled in this new job, does when she crosses paths with SVU going forward, since she won’t be looking at her former squad as where she wishes she still was (presumably).

What are you hoping to see from her in Season 26? Let us know in the comments section, below.

Law & Order: SVU, Season 26 Premiere, Thursday, October 3, 9/8c, NBC